Abortion, Notre Dame, and Obama
The debate over inviting a pro-choice president to speak at a Catholic university
Some people think they're "more Catholic than the pope," said the Los Angeles Times in an editorial. Conservatives are lobbying to rescind an invitation to President Obama to speak during commencement next month at Notre Dame, the nation's best-known Catholic university. They reason that Obama's views on abortion are incompatible with those of the church—but Pope Benedict XVI has been cordial to Obama, so why can't they?
Because Catholics believe abortion is the premeditated killing of an unborn child, said Patrick Buchanan in RealClearPolitics, and Obama is the most pro-abortion president this country has ever had. Notre Dame's job isn't to "join the secularists in their endless scavenger hunt" for truth—it's to "teach eternal truths about God and Man," including the sanctity of every human life.
"Catholicism is not a sect that shuns the world as evil," said Kenneth L. Woodward in The Washington Post. American bishops have a policy forbidding Catholic institutions from honoring anyone who acts contrary to Catholic moral principles, but that's aimed at "dissident Catholic politicians such as Sen. Ted Kennedy." Obama's visit would be "quite a coup for the nation's most resonantly Catholic university."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'A direct, protracted war with Israel is not something Iran is equipped to fight'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 17, 2024
Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons - political anxiety, jury sorting hat, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Arid Gulf states hit with year's worth of rain
Speed Read The historic flooding in Dubai is tied to climate change
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published