Dr. Dillon and authentic Catholic Higher Education

(disclaimer: these are NOT the thoughts of TH. Just me personally, who happens to work for TH.)

Would you be opposed to Bush getting to speak at ND? Or Cheney? Or Reagan? Or even a good Catholic like Newt? Maybe even John Thune or Sam Brownback?

There are inherent problems with modern politics and Catholic institutions. The reason we Catholics are opposed to Obama is because of his pro-abortion stance (primarily). However, Catholic Doctrine stretches far beyond abortion - the death penalty, euthanasia, doctor-assisted suicide and even, yes, unjust war - are all covered under the Church's pro-life stance. Thus, anyone in support of the death penalty or the War in Iraq (deemed unjust by the Pope) would be eliminated from contention and should cause an equal outrage. Would you see the same flare up? I think not.

Those Catholics opposed are, unfortunately, not speaking with their faith, but rather are speaking with their politics spun through a lens of faith. Is Obama's appearance against Catholic teaching? Yes. Have there been countless others who have spoken at Catholic universities that have been opposed to Catholic teaching? Absolutely.

I can speak from personal experiences. I went to the Catholic University of America. Stanley Tucci, a world-reknown film-maker, was not allowed on campus because he was adamently pro-choice. Fine. But Dick Cheney was allowed to deliver a speech a mere 2 weeks later despite his pro-death penalty stance.

Equal attention should be paid to issues beyond abortion.

Dear Chris,

Thanks for your thoughts and for your service to TH. You make good points. Attention needs to be paid to other issue. In fact, a whole range of bio-ethical, scientific and medical health care issues have been raised by current executive orders and legislation. But each issue has a different moral gravity and different circumstances surrounding it. Nonetheless, we seem to agree that there is little reference to a guiding Catholic humanism that might address with consistency these very human concerns - this is why the efforts of educators like Dr. Dillon are now so valuable.

I can not agree with the presumption that those who oppose ND honoring the current president are merely motivated by politics. It is a reductionistic assertion. In my experience, many people, including bishops, would rather not be bothered by politics at all. These folks only get worked up politically when politicians impose inhumane social agendas that hurt people.

There are additional issues that may drive those speaking out against Notre Dame. Many of those speaking out voted for President Obama a few months ago. They judged him to be moderate. Now, they feel betrayed by his radical policies on a variety of issues.

But it is not just POTUS who has betrayed them. Fr. Jenkins made a lot of promises to families and benefactors about his commitment to Catholic identity. Instead of keeping his word, ND has chosen to be dismissive of its local ordinary and defiant to the U.S. Catholic Bishops.

Might this defiance also provide fodder for the flare up? The recent hooplah at Georgetown would suggest as much - I do not think abortion was even a remote issue. Nor were they upset by any other policy - but for covering the Cross and the Holy Name. Here you seem as concerned as I am about the failure of Catholic Institutions like ND to witness our faith.