I became Catholic last year. After nearly twenty years as a Methodist pastor, I converted. My decision surprised my family and shocked many of my friends. In fact, the decision cost me a number of friendships and opportunities. The decision went against self-interest in many ways and was instead guided toward my pursuit of truth.

The Catholic Church's teachings on life, and its sanctity from conception to a natural death , played an important role in my conversion. Having spent two decades in a denomination that had 1000 people vote every four years to decide whether abortion is moral or immoral, I rejoice to stand now with the Church to hold steady and inviolable the truth that each human life is created in the image of God and therefore has intrinsic value and worth.

Now, Notre Dame has invited President Obama to speak at its graduation ceremonies this year. An institution that likes to view itself as the premier Catholic university in America will welcome the most anti-life, pro-abortion president in America's history. I could not vote for Obama because his anti-life positions were so clear. Notre Dame will host a president whose pro-death mindset is clear: he has reversed the Mexico City policies, he seeks to eliminate conscience restrictions for health care workers, and he endorses embryonic stem cell research. Yet, Notre Dame's President John Jenkins, CSC, has invited Obama to a public platform at Notre Dame.

Jenkins is doing the right thing.

Many of my brothers and sisters who are passionately pro-life can and will disagree. One web site already claims 200,000 signatures to oppose Notre Dame's invitation, Bishop D'Arcy of Indiana has written a firm but kind rebuke to Jenkins based on the teaching of the Catholic bishops, and Randall Terry is already at work organizing to “lead an attack on the ground,” and to “raze hell” against Notre Dame's decision. But again, Jenkins is doing the right thing in inviting the President to Notre Dame. Continued...