NOTRE DAME, Indiana, March 20, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – White House Secretary Robert Gibbs stated today that Obama will give the commencement address at Notre Dame University this year. The school confirmed the announcement, stating on its website that Obama will also receive an honorary doctor of laws degree at the University’s 164th University Commencement Ceremony at 2 p.m. May 17 in the Joyce Center on campus.
In 2004, the United States of Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) approved a policy statement called “Catholics in Political Life,” which says, with reference to pro-abortion politicians, “They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”

President Obama has been called the “abortion president” by pro-life activists, and his appearance at the university would appear to violate the USCCB’s policy against honoring pro-abortion politicians.

One alumnus from the university has already expressed his displeasure in an open letter sent today to the president of Notre Dame, Rev. John Jenkins.

William Newton, a D.C. area attorney, wrote, “As an alumnus of Notre Dame Law School, I am deeply offended that you would invite President Barack Obama to speak at Commencement this year.” [reference]

As I quipped on Twitter, the only degree Notre Dame should be giving him is the “third degree” for his murderous executive orders. You have to wonder who in the world they could think this was a good idea. Though their annual production of the Vagina Monologue I guess leads to the Obama Monologue for the most radically pro-abortion president in history. To give an honor to a person who recently signed the death warrant for human embryos is pure scandal.

Update: Cardinal Newman Society has setup www.NotreDameScandal.com which includes an online petition to Notre Dame president Rev. John Jenkins, CSC, and contact information for the university

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently told a group of both legal and illegal immigrants and their families that enforcement of existing immigration laws, as currently practiced, is “un-American.”

The speaker, condemning raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, referred to the immigrants she was addressing as “very, very patriotic.”

“Who in this country would not want to change a policy of kicking in doors in the middle of the night and sending a parent away from their families?” Pelosi told a mostly Hispanic gathering at St. Anthony’s Church in San Francisco.[reference]

This happened 10 days ago. Well glad she can speak for the human dignity of immigrants. Though I would disagree that enforcing our laws is un-American. I thought liberals hated people questioning others patriotism?

Though when it came to the unborn she voted to prevent the ban on partial birth abortion. What value system is that?

She called gay marriage ruling in California as ‘milestone’ What value system is that?

She was thrilled to be at signing of embryonic stem-call research executive order by President Obama. What value system is that?

She wanted to put contraception in to the Stimulus bill. What value system is that.

Whatever value system that is – it isn’t Catholic.

This is getting oh so boring and predictable.

“It is my belief believe that the most effective presence on the front in the battle against HIV/AIDS is in fact the Catholic Church and her institutions. … The problem of HIV/AIDS cannot be overcome with mere slogans. If the soul is lacking, if Africans do not help one another, the scourge cannot be resolved by distributing condoms; quite the contrary, we risk worsening the problem. The solution can only come through a twofold commitment: firstly, the humanisation of sexuality, in other words a spiritual and human renewal bringing a new way of behaving towards one another; and secondly, true friendship, above all with the suffering, a readiness – even through personal sacrifice – to stand by those who suffer”.

So of course we get headlines like “Pope’s attack on condoms sickens Aids campaigners.“

In the past we have got many charges of the pope being responsible for millions of deaths in Africa. I would simply say “Name one country that reduced the HIV infection rate by promoting condoms.” Beeeeeeeep – Time out. The example of Uganda being the only country to reduce infection rates by promoting abstinence and fidelity is a story not allowed to be mentioned.

Mark Shea posted this a couple years ago.

The West’s commitment to sexual promiscuity is a religion that people will both kill and die for.

AIDS victims in 1987: Philippines 135 / Thailand 112

In 1991 the WHO predicted the Philippines would have 80,000 to 90,000 cases and Thailand 60,000 to 80,000 AIDS victims.

Thailand promoted the use of condoms in massive campaigns where Catholic Philippines promoted ‘Abstinence’ and ‘Be faithful’.

The prognosis of the WHO was wrong for both countries:

1999: Philippines 1,005 / Thailand 755,000 AIDS victims

Source: British Medical Journal, volume 328, April 10th 2004

As the Pope mentioned it is certainly not just slogans that will help. Saying be abstinent and be faithful will do little if any good if everything else in the society is saturated with sex and selling sex. Abstinence education in schools in not very effective when the media blares a discordant message 24/7. When the whole society is oriented towards a contrary message we can hardly expect any education to be effective. The Pope’s twofold advice will pretty much go unfollowed as people follow the false and deadly idol of sex without consequences.

As is usually the case the American Papist has excellent coverage.

Amy Welborn also has an in depth post on the subject.

Via Patrick Madrid is this excellent video with Catholic writer Joanna Boogle.

Diogenes posts:

The Association of Compassionate Christian Caregivers today severely criticized traditional Catholic teaching on marital “love” and called upon the churches to encourage wife-beating Africans to take the “prudent, practical steps” to reduce the risk of HIV infection when assailing their spouses.

“The science is not in doubt” says Fizzy Osbourne, spokesman for the International Planned Widowhood Federation, “all the evidence shows that bare fists used to pummel infected spouses cause skin ruptures that increase the rate of transmission to the uninfected partner.”

AIDS experts advise uninfected wife-beaters to don leather bag-mitts — ideally on top of and in addition to standard latex gloves — before striking their HIV-positive wives. Knuckle abrasion and random laceration can be reduced by as much as 94%, which significantly decreases exposure of the aggressor to contaminated blood. ..

Professor Robbie George writes a much nicer letter to Professor Douglas Kmiec than I would be capable of doing. Recently Kmiec made the error of taking what President Obama said about cloning as actually meaning that cloning would not be allowed. I guess that is an easy mistake if you don’t realize that he was talking about reproductive and not so-called therapeutic cloning (clone and kill).

His letter is a nice reminder this Lenten season to not ascribe to malice what might be just ignorance. Though I guess I will have to see the rest of the email volley between to two to make up my mind about that.