Can't be both at the same time

..... Winston Churchill once said of the politicians who appeased Adolf Hitler's demands at the Munich Conference, "They had to choose between war and dishonor. They chose dishonor; they will have war." Recently, outrage has been expressed by the Roman Catholic community after Barack Obama was scheduled to say his commencement address at the University of Notre Dame on May 17. Surely the protests make sense. Notre Dame is one of the premier RC universities in the U.S. and as such, should fully make note of the Church's stance on abortion. Obama directly contradicts Church teaching by supporting a woman's "right" to choose to murder her baby and his views on human embryonic stem cell research.  Notre Dame and indeed the President as well both have ignored the pleas of the communities they serve and therefore have similarly chosen dishonor, which they will have war for.

..... The Cardinal Newman Society, an RC college group on various campuses, started things off by creating a petition on notredamescandal.com calling for the university to take back their offer to let the President speak. It is insulting to me that Notre Dame doesn't just take their invitation back. Many of the Church hierarchy have spoken against the university for their decision. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops stated in 2004 that Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principals, says David Costanzo of the Newman Society. Doesn't Notre Dame care? Does it not realize that by being called a Roman Catholic university they must uphold their Roman Catholic faith and her teachings? A wolf in sheep's clothing is simply still a wolf. One cannot call themselves Roman Catholic and not fully support the Church.

..... For religious purposes, I also find fault in Notre Dame's invitation. It's all in their name. The school has been dedicated to Notre Dame, "Our Lady," more commonly known as the Virgin Mary. Isn't it ironic that they would host a president who supports choice in abortions, even though Our Lady is a mother who gave life to her son and did not even contemplate killing him? The Virgin Mary in the Roman Catholic Church is honored for her commitment to life. She is a mother after all and is a symbol for perfect purity. As an RC school, I doubt that Notre Dame would want to dishonor their patron saint, but they are perfectly fine with it so far.

..... I understand the arguments of some who say that Obama's other stances are being overlooked. They point to the fact that he was against the war from the beginning and that he is an advocate for workers and the common man. The Church too denounced the war and fully supports labor rights, even coming close to calling not giving a worker his wages a sin crying out to heaven! But in this case, life takes precedence over everything. Without life, would there even be workers? It seems that people love Obama because he'll help the economy. In a sense they value money before the right to life even though the Declaration of Independence puts life ahead of every inalienable right in it's famous phrase: "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."

..... So basically, Notre Dame, why don't you listen to your community and hear what we're trying to say before you make a mockery of the Church your supposedly a part of.

- Jeremy Dela Cruz, disgruntled person