Tulsa Bishop Earns Oklahomily Thank You

My heartfelt thanks go to Bishop Edward Slattery of the Diocese of Tulsa for sending a letter to Father John Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, asking him to rescind the invitation of President Barack Obama to speak at this year's commencement. Father Jenkins also plans to award Mr. Obama an honorary doctorate.

Bishop Slattery is one of thirteen (and counting) American bishops who are making this request. There is also an online petition sponsored by the Cardinal Newman Society that currently has over 225,000 names. Will these accomplish anything? Who knows? If Father Jenkins will listen to his conscience instead of his pride, perhaps so.

Here is most of what Bishop Slattery wrote:

I am writing to plead with you to cancel the invitation you gave to President Obama to speak at the University and the plans to honor him with a doctorate degree. Many, many Catholics and alumni of the University of Notre Dame are waiting for you to do so – some of them live here in Tulsa and are graduates of Notre Dame.

As you know, President Obama is aggressively promoting abortion on demand not only here in the United States but all over the world. In fact, he wants doctors to be required to perform an abortion whenever the mother asks.

Faithful Catholics and all men and women of good will are appalled by the sin of abortion. It is a cancer in our society which is eating away at all the other pro-life issues because abortion destroys human life at its very beginning and has become so common.

For President Obama to be honored by Notre Dame is more than a disappointment, it is a scandal – especially to young adults. His being honored by Notre Dame will make it easier for a woman who contemplates abortion to actually submit herself to this cruel and deadly procedure. At the same time, the University of Notre Dame will have distanced itself from the Bishops of the country who unanimously have asked that no politician promoting abortion be honored by any of our institutions.

On the other hand, your cancellation of the president’s visit will be noted and remembered as an affirmation of the intrinsic value of human life, a courageous example of prophetic witness worthy of a Catholic institution.

I promise my prayers for you, for President Obama, and for all those who lead our Church and our society.

It is not incendiary. It is thoughtful.

It is much kinder than my ongoing gut reaction, but that's why he's the bishop and I'm continually struggling to improve my conduct.

A university that uses the name of "Our Lady" should exemplify the qualities of the mother of Jesus, not the clamor for the attention and praise of the worldly. It is not just a scandal for Catholics, but for all Christians who believe that taxpayers should not be forced to participate in evil acts that destroy life.

The Cardinal Newman Society said this:

... Notre Dame has chosen prestige over principles, popularity over morality. Whatever may be President Obama’s admirable qualities, this honor comes on the heels of some of the most anti-life actions of any American president, including expanding federal funding for abortions and inviting taxpayer-funded research on stem cells from human embryos.

The honor also comes amid great concern among Catholics nationwide about President Obama’s future impact on American society, the family, and the Catholic Church on issues such as traditional marriage, conscience protections for Catholic doctors and nurses, and expansion of abortion “rights.”

Yes, it will be embarrassing for Father Jenkins to disinvite Mr. Obama and withdraw the offer of an honorary doctorate, but it's still the right thing to do. It's not merely Father Jenkins' pride on the line; it's the loss of pride of every graduate who holds dear the principles they were once taught at the university.

Each day that Father Jenkins persists in his refusal makes it that much harder for him to do the right thing. Better to do it now and get it over with. May 17 is still six weeks away.

I'm sure the president can find plenty of other places who would love to hear him speak.

And if it angers him that he's disinvited, perhaps he will think of "why" the invite was rescinded, and maybe it will trouble his conscience.

And maybe he will do a little soul searching of his own.

Stranger things have happened.