When President Obama spoke at the University of Notre Dame--a move that caused controversy because of his pro-abortion stance at a pro-life institution--one of his themes was open hearts and open minds, for "that's when we discover at least the possibility of common ground."
Now, three years later, schools such as Notre Dame are unclear whether they fall under the Obama' administration's "religious employer" exemption for his contraceptive mandate, in part because they provide services to people who don't agree with them.
According to a document put out by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, "The mandate does not exempt Catholic charities, schools, universities, or hospitals. These institutions are vital to the mission of the Church, but the Administration does not deem them 'religious employers' deserving conscience protection because they do not “serve primarily persons who share the[ir] religious tenets.' The Administration denies these organizations religious freedom precisely because their religiously motivated purpose is to serve the common good of society."
So in other words, be open-minded when it conveniences Obama to give a speech at a prestigious institution, but not when it comes to living out your religious beliefs of serving everyone regardless of their convictions.
No wonder this university is taking the case to court.
Let's just go over this one more time: Notre Dame, against many Catholics' better judgment, gives Obama a magnificent platform to spout his ideology. He, in turn, discusses serving others, regardless of whether they agree with you:
"This tradition of cooperation and understanding is one that I learned in my own life many years ago - also with the help of the Catholic Church.I was not raised in a particularly religious household, but my mother instilled in me a sense of service and empathy that eventually led me to become a community organizer after I graduated college. A group of Catholic churches in Chicago helped fund an organization known as the Developing Communities Project, and we worked to lift up South Side neighborhoods that had been devastated when the local steel plant closed.
It was quite an eclectic crew. Catholic and Protestant churches. Jewish and African-American organizers. Working-class black and white and Hispanic residents. All of us with different experiences. All of us with different beliefs. But all of us learned to work side by side because all of us saw in these neighborhoods other human beings who needed our help - to find jobs and improve schools. We were bound together in the service of others.
And something else happened during the time I spent in those neighborhoods. Perhaps because the church folks I worked with were so welcoming and understanding; perhaps because they invited me to their services and sang with me from their hymnals; perhaps because I witnessed all of the good works their faith inspired them to perform, I found myself drawn - not just to work with the church, but to be in the church. It was through this service that I was brought to Christ.
At the time, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin was the Archbishop of Chicago. For those of you too young to have known him, he was a kind and good and wise man. A saintly man. I can still remember him speaking at one of the first organizing meetings I attended on the South Side. He stood as both a lighthouse and a crossroads - unafraid to speak his mind on moral issues ranging from poverty, AIDS, and abortion to the death penalty and nuclear war. And yet, he was congenial and gentle in his persuasion, always trying to bring people together; always trying to find common ground. Just before he died, a reporter asked Cardinal Bernardin about this approach to his ministry. And he said, "You can't really get on with preaching the Gospel until you've touched minds and hearts."
My heart and mind were touched by the words and deeds of the men and women I worked alongside with in Chicago. And I'd like to think that we touched the hearts and minds of the neighborhood families whose lives we helped change. For this, I believe, is our highest calling."
But today, your institution likely does not meet our religious employers' exemption because you provide services to those who don't agree with you.
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