LifeNet

Judge John T. Noonan to speak alongside Obama at Notre Dame - no Laetare Medal given this year

This from the American Papist website:

http://www.americanpapist.com/2009/04/flash-former-laetare-medalist-judge.html

Former Laetare Medalist Judge John T. Noonan to deliver address at Notre Dame’s Commencement in lieu of Mary Ann Glendon

From Notre Dame's Office of News & Info:

Judge John T. Noonan Jr., the 1984 recipient of the Laetare Medal, has accepted an invitation to deliver an address in the spirit of the award at Notre Dame’s 164th University Commencement Ceremony on May 17. His speech will be in lieu of awarding the medal this year.

“In thinking about who could bring a compelling voice, a passion for dialogue, great intellectual stature, and a deep commitment to Catholic values to the speaking role of the Laetare Medalist – especially in these unusual circumstances – it quickly became clear that an ideal choice is Judge Noonan,” said Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., president of Notre Dame. “This commencement ceremony, more than anything else, is a celebration of our students and their families. Judge Noonan will join with President Obama and other speakers in that celebration, sending them from our campus and into the world with sound advice and affirmation.

“Since Judge Noonan is a previous winner of the Laetare Medal, we have decided, upon reflection, to not award the medal this year.”

And way down at the bottom, as an "afterthought" conclusion:

"Mary Ann Glendon, Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard University and former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, was selected as the 2009 Laetare Medalist but declined the honor."

AND FROM COMMONWEAL...

http://www.typepad.com/site/blogs/6a00d8341cc5fb53ef00d8341cc5fe53ef/post/6a00d8341cc5fb53ef01156f61bafd970c/edit?saved=e

“Since Judge Noonan is a previous winner of the Laetare Medal, we have decided, upon reflection, to not award the medal this year.” Noonan was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1985 by President Ronald Reagan.

In addition to his service on the federal bench, Noonan has been a consultant for the Presidential Commission on Population, the National Institutes of Health, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the American Law Institute.

Noonan has served as a consultant for several agencies in the Catholic Church, including Pope Paul VI’s Commission on Problems of the Family, and the U.S. Catholic Conference’s committees on moral values, law and public policy, law and life issues, and social development and world peace. He also has been a governor of the Canon Law Society of America, and director of the National Right to Life Committee.

LifeNet Notes:

Commentary pro and con can be found on the above websites. Also, the HVCL and LifeNet suggest you read this analysis of Judge Noonan's abortion position Noonan and Catholic Perspectives, which seems to be no exceptions opposition. You can also read a review of one of Judge Noonan's books, The Lustre of Our Country, The American Experience of Religious Freedom, here - http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/7099.php

With prayer protests planned near campus and heavy hitters on the podium, commencement should be more than interesting. Principle has already trumped prestige in the broad outpouring of pro-life sentiment. Will President Obama's appearance charm or harm? No matter. The honor bestowed on him at this juncture in his political career will be forever tainted with the blood of the unborn. 

Senate approves pro-abortion Sebelius as head of Health and Human Services

The vote was 65-31.

Senate Votes to Approve Pro-Abortion Obama HHS Nominee Kathleen Sebelius

The Senate voted on a lopsided 2-1 margin in favor of pro-abortion Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to become the next Health Secretary. Pro-life groups had opposed her nomination because of her lengthy pro-abortion record voting pro-life bills and her close connection with a late-term abortion practitioner.

Senators voted 65 to 31 on Tuesday to confirm Sebelius as the secretary of Health and Human Services, approving yet another of President Barack Obama's pro-abortion nominees.

As the health secretary, Sebelius could have an impact in crafting a health care plan that could cover abortions with taxpayer funds or require insurance companies to cover abortions in their plans.

Sebelius could also issue new regulations overturning the protections President Bush put in place that protect pro-life doctors and medical centers as the Obama administration has proposed doing.

During the debate leading abortion advocates promoted her for the position and used the recent swine flu epidemic as rationale to support her.

Senator Mark Warner from Virginia said, “It is essential for the health of the nation that President Obama has in place and the nation has in place a strong secretary of health and human services to make sure that our federal efforts on this potential pandemic are ably coordinated.”

Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri added: "I want my colleagues to know that they are voting to confirm an extraordinary individual who will do an excellent job as secretary of Health and Human Services."

But the debate came as 32 members of the House called on Obama to withdraw Sebelius' nomination.

"We are deeply disappointed by this nomination and believe a nominee to such an important position should, at the very least, not have commitments to the morally reprehensible practice of providing abortion in almost every circumstance," they said in a letter.

Sebelius is most notorious for her close relationship with late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller, who has escaped prosecution and accountability thus far for allegedly repeatedly violating state abortion laws.

He's done so in part because of the lax standards of Sebelius and her political allies, to whom Tiller has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars. Governor Sebelius vetoed a bill last April that the legislature approved that would have strengthened the state's limits on late-term abortions. She vetoed another bill just days ago that would have required more information about why late-term abortions are done.

Sebelius went as far as to coordinate a secret event with Tiller at the governor's mansion that was criticized because her staff failed to officially report the event.

Her position favoring abortion is so radical and extreme that Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City called on her to stop receiving communion until she disowns her support for the "serious moral evil" of abortion.

Leading pro-life groups have unanimously blasted the potential of Sebelius serving as Health Secretary because of her longstanding pro-abortion record.

"Sebelius is joined at the hip with the abortion industry," Troy Newman, the president of Operation Rescue, tells LifeNews.com. "She owes them her political career and has been more than willing to pay them back with personal favors that have shielded them from legislation and criminal prosecution. Her corrupt abortion politics make her unfit to serve."

Obama was forced to select someone else for the top health post because his previous selection, pro-abortion former Sen. Tom Daschle, removed his name from consideration after a scandal over his not paying taxes properly.

A potential post in the Obama administration would help pro-life efforts in Kansas if only by removing Sebelius from office. It may also mean she will not run for Senate in 2010, where she was seen as a leading contender for the seat of pro-life Sen. Sam Brownback, who is expected to run for governor.

Senate Vote Tally on Nomination of Pro-Abortion Kathleen Sebelius

Alabama:	Sessions (R-AL), Not Voting	Shelby (R-AL), Nay
Alaska:	Begich (D-AK), Yea	Murkowski (R-AK), Nay
Arizona:	Kyl (R-AZ), Nay	McCain (R-AZ), Nay
Arkansas:	Lincoln (D-AR), Yea	Pryor (D-AR), Yea
California:	Boxer (D-CA), Yea	Feinstein (D-CA), Yea
Colorado:	Bennet (D-CO), Yea	Udall (D-CO), Yea
Connecticut:	Dodd (D-CT), Yea	Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea
Delaware:	Carper (D-DE), Yea	Kaufman (D-DE), Yea
Florida:	Martinez (R-FL), Nay	Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Georgia:	Chambliss (R-GA), Nay	Isakson (R-GA), Nay
Hawaii:	Akaka (D-HI), Yea	Inouye (D-HI), Yea
Idaho:	Crapo (R-ID), Nay	Risch (R-ID), Nay
Illinois:	Burris (D-IL), Yea	Durbin (D-IL), Yea
Indiana:	Bayh (D-IN), Yea	Lugar (R-IN), Yea
Iowa:	Grassley (R-IA), Nay	Harkin (D-IA), Yea
Kansas:	Brownback (R-KS), Yea	Roberts (R-KS), Yea
Kentucky:	Bunning (R-KY), Nay	McConnell (R-KY), Nay
Louisiana:	Landrieu (D-LA), Yea	Vitter (R-LA), Nay
Maine:	Collins (R-ME), Yea	Snowe (R-ME), Yea
Maryland:	Cardin (D-MD), Yea	Mikulski (D-MD), Yea
Massachusetts:	Kennedy (D-MA), Not Voting	Kerry (D-MA), Yea
Michigan:	Levin (D-MI), Yea	Stabenow (D-MI), Yea
Minnesota:	Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea
Mississippi:	Cochran (R-MS), Nay	Wicker (R-MS), Nay
Missouri:	Bond (R-MO), Yea	McCaskill (D-MO), Yea
Montana:	Baucus (D-MT), Yea	Tester (D-MT), Yea
Nebraska:	Johanns (R-NE), Nay	Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Nevada:	Ensign (R-NV), Nay	Reid (D-NV), Yea
New Hampshire:	Gregg (R-NH), Yea	Shaheen (D-NH), Yea
New Jersey:	Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea	Menendez (D-NJ), Yea
New Mexico:	Bingaman (D-NM), Yea	Udall (D-NM), Yea
New York:	Gillibrand (D-NY), Yea	Schumer (D-NY), Yea
North Carolina:	Burr (R-NC), Nay	Hagan (D-NC), Yea
North Dakota:	Conrad (D-ND), Yea	Dorgan (D-ND), Yea
Ohio:	Brown (D-OH), Yea	Voinovich (R-OH), Yea
Oklahoma:	Coburn (R-OK), Nay	Inhofe (R-OK), Nay
Oregon:	Merkley (D-OR), Yea	Wyden (D-OR), Yea
Pennsylvania:	Casey (D-PA), Yea	Specter (R-PA), Yea
Rhode Island:	Reed (D-RI), Yea	Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea
South Carolina:	DeMint (R-SC), Nay	Graham (R-SC), Nay
South Dakota:	Johnson (D-SD), Yea	Thune (R-SD), Nay
Tennessee:	Alexander (R-TN), Nay	Corker (R-TN), Nay
Texas:	Cornyn (R-TX), Nay	Hutchison (R-TX), Nay
Utah:	Bennett (R-UT), Nay	Hatch (R-UT), Nay
Vermont:	Leahy (D-VT), Yea	Sanders (I-VT), Yea
Virginia:	Warner (D-VA), Yea	Webb (D-VA), Yea
Washington:	Cantwell (D-WA), Yea	Murray (D-WA), Yea
West Virginia:	Byrd (D-WV), Yea	Rockefeller (D-WV), Not Voting
Wisconsin:	Feingold (D-WI), Yea	Kohl (D-WI), Yea
Wyoming:	Barrasso (R-WY), Nay	Enzi (R-WY), Nay

FDA Allows 17-Year-Olds to Purchase Morning After Pill Over the Counter

Members of the HVCL and various prolife groups have been fighting this battle for quite some time. Visits to local representatives, like Sany Galef and Suzi Oppenheimer to name two, asking for their help to prevent this affront to the health of minors and parental rights, went nowhere. We asked legislators to play devil's advocate on an agenda-related issue they promote because the consequences for women, long and short term, were not sufficiently explored. Another common sense battle lost to the abortion industry. "Big Abortion" just marches on and on...This medical time bomb should outrage women! Where are their voices? Must more children die? Here are two items about this latest travesty.

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The FDA on Wednesday made the final decision to allow 17-year-old teenage girls to purchase the morning after pill over the counter instead of having to obtain it via a doctor's prescription. The decision comes after a court ruling last month ordering that Plan B be made available over the counter to those 17 and up. The FDA said in a statement that it would not appeal the court's decision. In the order, U.S. District Judge Edward Korman also asked the agency to consider whether the pill should be available to women of all ages without a prescription, saying that such a determination is best left to the expertise of the FDA rather than a federal district judge. He also criticized the FDA for departing from its normal standards by having different standards for the drug for different ages. In August 2006, the FDA approved the sale of Plan B without a prescription to those 18 and older, but those 17 and under needed a prescription to obtain it. While Planned Parenthood hailed the decision, Concerned Women for America was disappointed by it. "Plan B is a high dose of birth control pills. ... The FDA violated its standards when it made the high-dose Plan B available nonprescription to adults. But now the FDA is making the drug available to minors without parental consent," the group said. "Parents should be furious that the FDA is putting their minor daughters at risk." Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, the FDA's acting commissioner at the time the decision was made, said the agency did not approve the drug for sales to teenagers because Barr, its manufacturer, had not provided enough information about how the morning after pill affects them. CWA says selling the morning after pill over the counter will make it easier for men who abuse young women to cover up their crimes. "Any adult male who is having sex with a minor could walk into a pharmacy, buy the drug, and coax the girl into taking the pill," she said.

More...

Pro-Life Advocates Disappointed Obama Admin Oks Morning After Pill for Girls
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Top pro-life groups are upset that the Obama administration, through the Food and Drug Administration, has allowed 17-year-old girls the ability to purchase the morning after pill over the counter. The decision came on the heels of a federal court decision, but Family Research Council says “without so much as a whimper, it seems the Obama administration will acquiesce to” the ruling and “allow 17-year-olds to buy the morning-after pill without a prescription or their parents' consent.” The Obama administration refused to appeal the ruling to a higher court, which disappoints Perkins. “The Department of Justice should be called in to defend the FDA guidelines on Plan B. In this case, however, the Obama administration has decided to roll over and accept the court decision without a single appeal,” he said. “Essentially, the President is allowing a lone federal district judge to make a scientific decision that affects the health and safety of women across America. For the young administration, it shows an incredible disinclination to fight for good policy.” Meanwhile, Deirdre McQuade, a spokeswoman for the pro-life office of the nation’s Catholic bishops, told LifeNews.com that the Obama administration’s decision will result in more abortions, because the drug can sometimes cause them, and hurt parental rights. “Wider access to Plan B could endanger the lives of newly-conceived children, and will put minors at risk for unnecessary side effects, undermine parental rights, and contribute to higher STD rates,” she said. “Although Plan B can prevent fertilization, the manufacturer admits it may also prevent an embryo from implanting in the womb, which is essential to his or her continued survival. Since it takes several days for the growing embryo to reach the uterine lining and implant in the mother’s womb, the child in his or her second week of life could die as a direct result of Plan B. This is properly understood as an early abortion.” She says teens will likely not know then unless pointed out to them by a physician.

 

News Flash: Mary Ann Glendon declines Laetare Medal from Notre Dame

UPDATE:  by Fr. Raymond De Souza Glendon Declines ND Honor: National Catholic Register

From First Things. Hit the link below to read Glendon's letter, but it will take time to open; the First Things server is jammed up:

Mary Ann Glendon has declined the Laetare Medal, the annual award from Notre Dame, which she was to receive this spring at the university's graduation ceremonies. 

At 9:30 this morning, April 27, 2009, Mary Ann Glendon faxed to the university's president, the Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., and published online at First Things (http://www.firstthings.com/blog/2009/04/27/declining-notre-dame-a-letter-from-mary-ann-glendon/) a letter explaining her decision to refuse the medal.

Mary Ann Glendon is Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. A member of the editorial and advisory board of <em>First Things</em>, she served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican from 2007 to 2009.

--
Joe Carter
Web Editor
First Things
firstthings.com

UPDATE #2 First Things server is down, here's the text of the letter:

Dear Father Jenkins,

When you informed me in December 2008 that I had been selected to receive Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal, I was profoundly moved. I treasure the memory of receiving an honorary degree from Notre Dame in 1996, and I have always felt honored that the commencement speech I gave that year was included in the anthology of Notre Dame’s most memorable commencement speeches. So I immediately began working on an acceptance speech that I hoped would be worthy of the occasion, of the honor of the medal, and of your students and faculty.

Last month, when you called to tell me that the commencement speech was to be given by President Obama, I mentioned to you that I would have to rewrite my speech. Over the ensuing weeks, the task that once seemed so delightful has been complicated by a number of factors.

First, as a longtime consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, I could not help but be dismayed by the news that Notre Dame also planned to award the president an honorary degree. This, as you must know, was in disregard of the U.S. bishops’ express request of 2004 that Catholic institutions “should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles” and that such persons “should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.” That request, which in no way seeks to control or interfere with an institution’s freedom to invite and engage in serious debate with whomever it wishes, seems to me so reasonable that I am at a loss to understand why a Catholic university should disrespect it.

Then I learned that “talking points” issued by Notre Dame in response to widespread criticism of its decision included two statements implying that my acceptance speech would somehow balance the event:

• “President Obama won’t be doing all the talking. Mary Ann Glendon, the former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, will be speaking as the recipient of the Laetare Medal.”

• “We think having the president come to Notre Dame, see our graduates, meet our leaders, and hear a talk from Mary Ann Glendon is a good thing for the president and for the causes we care about.”

A commencement, however, is supposed to be a joyous day for the graduates and their families. It is not the right place, nor is a brief acceptance speech the right vehicle, for engagement with the very serious problems raised by Notre Dame’s decision—in disregard of the settled position of the U.S. bishops—to honor a prominent and uncompromising opponent of the Church’s position on issues involving fundamental principles of justice.

Finally, with recent news reports that other Catholic schools are similarly choosing to disregard the bishops’ guidelines, I am concerned that Notre Dame’s example could have an unfortunate ripple effect.

It is with great sadness, therefore, that I have concluded that I cannot accept the Laetare Medal or participate in the May 17 graduation ceremony.

In order to avoid the inevitable speculation about the reasons for my decision, I will release this letter to the press, but I do not plan to make any further comment on the matter at this time.

Yours Very Truly,

Mary Ann Glendon

Fr. Jenkins has issued a response It's really a non-response to her points. Just says they'll get a new awardee. Who will accept in this situation?

 

Governor Sebelius - nominee as Head of Health and Human Services - yesterday vetoed a Bill restricting 3rd trimester abortions

Press release from Catholic League

Catholic League: For Religious and Civil Rights

SEBELIUS’ POLITICAL KICKBACK

April 24, 2009

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, nominated to be the next secretary of health and human services, vetoed a bill yesterday that would have placed new restrictions on third trimester abortions. Catholic League president Bill Donohue spoke to this issue today:

“The veto by Sebelius was a political kickback to Dr. George Tiller, the infamous abortion doctor who specializes in killing kids just before they are born (and in some cases when they are mostly born). It was also a clear rejection of women’s rights.

“Tiller is a long-time donor and friend of Sebelius, having greased her with so much dough that she can’t even remember how much he has forked up. All along he was buying protection from lawsuits, and yesterday he got what he wanted. Sebelius, like all pro-abortion Catholics, says she wants to reduce abortions, yet what she just did was to shield abortionists like Tiller from publicly stating why it is necessary to kill a kid after the 22nd week of pregnancy. Now he can go about his death trade willy nilly, without any accountability. Moreover, the bill would have allowed a woman to sue if she believed the abortionist lied to her about the need for a late-term abortion. So much for women’s rights.

“Sebelius seems incapable of shame. She waited until the 11th hour yesterday to deliver her body blow: she vetoed the bill at 4:45 p.m. on the 10th and last day before the clock ran out. And President Obama wants to put a person like this in charge of the nation’s healthcare? It just doesn’t get any dirtier than this.”

Catholic Conference of Bishops statement on new embryo destruction rules - 2nd paragraph the key

USCCB News Release

09-087
April 21, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For first time, federal tax dollars will be used
to encourage destruction of living embryonic human beings

“Suffering patients and their families deserve better,” says Cardinal Rigali

CARDINAL RIGALI CRITICIZES DRAFT NIH GUIDELINES FOR DESTRUCTIVE STEM CELL RESEARCH

WASHINGTON—Cardinal Justin Rigali, Chairman of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, reacted today to new draft guidelines for human embryonic stem cell research issued late last week by the National Institutes of Health. The text of his statement follows:

New draft guidelines for federally funded stem cell research involving the destruction of human embryos, released Friday by the National Institutes of Health, mark a new chapter in divorcing biomedical research from its necessary ethical foundation. Without unconditional respect for the life of each and every member of the human race, research involving human subjects does not represent true progress. It becomes another way for some human beings to use and mistreat others for their own goals. Suffering patients and their families deserve better, through increased support for promising and ethically sound stem cell research and treatments that harm no one.

In most respects these draft guidelines reflect the policy approved but never implemented by the Clinton administration in 2000. However, the Clinton policy was limited to embryos that had been frozen, to ensure that parents had time to consider the decision to donate them for research; the new guidelines are broader in allowing destruction of newly created embryos that were never frozen, increasing the prospects for a rushed and biased consent process.

Despite supporters’ constant claim that this agenda involves only embryos that “would otherwise be discarded,” the guidelines provide that the option of donating embryonic children for destructive research will be offered to parents alongside all other options,
including those allowing the embryos to live. For the first time, federal tax dollars will be used to encourage destruction of living embryonic human beings for stem cell research – including human beings who otherwise would have survived and been born.

It is noteworthy that, despite calls for an even broader policy by some in Congress and the research community, the draft guidelines do not allow federally funded stem cell research using embryos specially created for research purposes by in vitro fertilization or cloning. We can hope that the NIH and Congress will continue to respect this ethical norm, and will realize that the alleged “need” for violating it is more implausible than ever due to advances in reprogramming adult cells to act like embryonic stem cells. However, congressional supporters of destructive human embryo research have already said they will pursue a more extreme policy. The Catholic bishops of the United States will be writing to Congress and the Administration about the need to restore and maintain barriers against the mistreatment of human life in the name of science, and we urge other concerned citizens to do the same.

Bishop Finn of Kansas speaks out on the Church Militant: "We are at War"

This is the keynote address of Bishop Robert Finn at the Gospel of Life Convention for Missouri and Kansas. He is Chairman of the Bishop's Task Force on Life and the Dignity of the Human Person. Well worth printing out and reading.

The Catholic Key Blog: 'We are at war' - Bishop Finn's Gospel of Life Convention Keynote

Our enemy is the deceiver, the liar, Satan. Because of his spiritual powers he can turn the minds and hearts of men. He is our spiritual or supernatural enemy when he works to tempt us, and he becomes a kind of natural enemy as he works in the hearts of other people to twist and confound God’s will. In our human experience people deceived by Satan’s distortions and lies may appear as our “human enemies.”

But, in his Letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul makes, for us, a very important distinction. “Draw strength from the Lord and from His mighty power,” He tells them and us. “Put on the armor of God, in order that you can stand firm against the tactics of the devil.” “For, our struggle,” St. Paul tells us, “is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the rulers of this darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.” (Eph 6:10-12).

********

This dissension in our own ranks should not surprise us because we all experience some dissension against God’s law of love within our own heart. But the “battle between believers,” who claim a certain “common ground” with us, while at the same time, they attack the most fundamental tenets of the Church’s teachings, or disavow the natural law – this opposition is one of the most discouraging, confusing, and dangerous.

In my first U.S. Bishops’ Conference meeting – June of 2004 – the bishops passed what seemed to me to be a compromise statement as a result of our lengthy debate on politicians and Communion. There we stated that pro-choice leaders (and specifically, Catholic leaders were mentioned) should not be given public platforms or honors. As we all know the eminent American Catholic University, Notre Dame, is poised to bestow such an opportunity and honor on President Obama, who is, of course, not Catholic. But it doesn’t take another Bishops’ Conference statement to know this is wrong: scandalous, discouraging and confusing to many Catholics.

********

Thousands of human lives every day: If we keep saying this – first of all – some people will get very upset with us. They will want us to stop. They may quote other statistics about the tragedies of poverty and war. We must truly share their horror at these things too. However, in the end the measure of our society is in how we treat the most vulnerable in our midst. The unifying thread is “the value of human life and the dignity of the human person.”

4000 abortions each day in the United States. This is the tally of the enemy. Are we in a war? Absolutely. Are we winning? Are we even battling to win? Or do we consider this someone else’s war?

9th. Annual Center for Life Breakfast - April 25 - this Saturday!

Join the Northern Westchester & Putnam Center for Life Educational Trust Breakfast this Saturday, April 25, 9-11:45 a.m., at the Holiday Inn, One Holiday Inn Drive, Mount Kisco. Registration 8:45 a.m. 

John P. Margand, Esq. is the guest speaker on "Taking Back the Culture" Abstinence Education as  a realistic alternative! This counter-cultural approach to sex education is timely and will be of special interest to parents in New York who are currently facing promotion of the "Healthy Teens Act". The information you hear will help prepare you for the critical challenges that are certain to permeate sex-education classes unless this bill and others like it are stopped. A consistent and common sense approach to teaching chastity and health issues are needed for our young students in public and private schools, and John Margand will help us understand why these messages cannot be ignored.

Honorees are Peg and Walter Doherty of St. John's Respect Life Committee in Mahopac and Edmund P. Riely, Jr. of the Westchester Right to Life Party. All three are seasoned activists whose prayers and political presence have helped fight for protections for the unborn for decades.

Center for Life Director Alan Mehldau is seen below with students who attended last year's event.

 

Join the crowd!

The $45/person donation serves this worthy cause and gives you a great Buffet breakfast, too! Make Checks payable to the "Center for Life" can be paid at the door, BUT call 914-232-1168 to reserve a seat! 

Divine Mercy Sunday was today. Here's the homily on Divine Mercy by Bishop Finn of Kansas

Go here.

The Catholic Key Blog: Bishop Finn's Homily for Divine Mercy Sunday

Jesus not only gave the chaplet to St. Faustina. He taught her many things about the wide embrace of his merciful love. And so each of the last nine days we have heard Our Lord’s invitation to “bring to Him” all mankind: the faithful and the unfaithful – so that He could flood them with this divine gift of undeserved love.

Sarah Palin speaks out on abortion

UPDATE: Here's a more complete look at her talk

Click here: Sarah Palin speech in Indiana

The governor's 30-minute speech was folksy and full of digressions, but also surprisingly confessional, and she went into some detail about initially panicking after learning, 13 weeks into her pregnancy, that her son would be born with Down syndrome: "That blew me away, it rocked my world… It was a time I asked myself, was I going to walk the walk?"

She was on a trip out of state at the time, she said, and "just for a fleeting moment I thought, 'No one knows me here; no one would ever know.' ... My amniocentesis came back and then I understood why some people would think they could change their circumstances, just take care of it. Todd didn't even know" the results of the prenatal testing yet, so "no one would know."

"Plus, I was old," she continued. "And I thought, 'Very funny, God. My name's Sarah, but my husband's not Abraham, he's Todd.'" At 44, she said, she had a hard time imagining changing diapers again, not to mention "putting down the BlackBerry and picking up the breast pump."

Though it was unclear from her remarks how seriously she considered terminating the pregnancy, she assured the audience that "we went through some things a year ago that's helped me understand a woman and a girl's temptation to make this go away."

We will try and get the full text of this speech.

Palin stands against abortion during Ind. speech

Palin said the challenges she faced during her pregnancy with her son Trig, who was born with Down syndrome, gave her an opportunity to live out her anti-abortion beliefs. She said she prayed often during her pregnancy, especially after tests revealed that her son would be born with the condition.

"The moment he was born, I knew that moment my prayers had been answered," Palin said. "Trig is a miracle. He is the best thing that ever happened to me and I want other women to have that opportunity."

She challenged the notion that children must be born perfect and that unplanned pregnancies are inconvenient and can be ended by abortion. "I know for sure my son is perfect just as he is, made in the image of God," she said.

She asked the crowd to keep working for the "culture of life" in America.

"Life is ordained, life is precious," she said.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan's op ed today

A lovely and touching column in the Daily News.

Hit the link for the whole thing - does not take long to read.

It's a blessing to be here: Why I'm proud to lead the wonderful Archdiocese of New York

Loving the Church here means supporting her indispensable work caring for the poor, the immigrants, the sick and elderly, the lonely, the unborn and the abandoned. It means working hard for her Catholic schools, in many ways the pride of the archdiocese. It means ensuring that our parishes are places where people encounter the Lord Jesus in the Mass, the sacraments and in an authentically Catholic community. It means inviting more young men to become priests and women to become sisters.

It means speaking from America's most famous pulpit for justice and peace, for religious liberty and the sanctity of all human life. It means teaching the Catholic faith in season and out of season, as a good shepherd must.

Al Gore's Venture Capital Firm to put $20 million into ethical stem cell research

Here's some good news.

Al Gore on board for $20M stem cell venture - USATODAY.com

Former vice president Al Gore is entering the stem cell arena with an announcement today of a $20 million biotech venture in the hot area of "induced pluripotent" stem cells.

Induced cells are attracting interest from researchers and biotech firms as an alternative to embryonic stem cells. Induced cells are made by inserting four genes into ordinary skin cells, and they offer a new path for "regenerative" medical treatments.

"I just think it's a very important breakthrough that is filled with promise and hope," says Gore, a partner with the venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, which is backing the research. "I think this is one of those good news stories that comes along every once in a while."

Unortunately he also said the following in the Wall Street Journal, but at least he's putting his money behind the promising research, rather then the dead end and unethical human embryo dissection.

"I think that the incredible excitement over this new collaboration [between Kyoto University and iZumi] shouldn't be used as an argument against other kinds of research, as long as it's pursued ethically and along prescribed guidelines," said former Vice President Al Gore, a partner at venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, which is backing iZumi. (Highland Capital Partners is another backer of the company.)

Pro-life advocates as "Right wing extremists"?

Many groups, such as Consistent Life and Democrats for Life of America would find this puzzling.

Obama Administration Tells Local Police Pro-Life Advocates May Engage in Violence, Extremism

According to the Washington Times, a footnote attached to the nine-page report from the Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis say the activities of pro-life advocates is included in "rightwing extremism in the United States.”

"It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single-issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration," the warning says.

Obama Administration promoting abortion heavily through the UN

From Lifenews.com

President Barack Obama Pushing Abortion Hard at United Nations, Pro-Life Group Says

...he “watched in horror as the previous pro-life positions of the United States were overturned in an instant by radical feminists representing the new Obama administration.”

“The US will now join the UN bureaucracy, Canada and the European Union as the most aggressive promoters of abortion all over the world,” Ruse explained. “This new pro-abortion coalition will actively seek to impose abortion on all the countries of Latin America, Africa, the Far East and even on the few remaining pro-life countries in Europe.”

Ruse said the only objections standing in the way of the Obama administration joining other pro-abortion nations to impose an international right to abortion on the rest of the world are a collection of countries with pro-life cultures but who are less powerful than the Obama-led UN team and pro-abortion lobbyists from other first-world nations.

Aided by groups like CFAM and the National Right to Life Committee, these pro-life nations are going to be called on more frequently to stand up to the Obama administration’s abortion trickery.

Catholic League P.R. on third trimester abortionist Tiller's financial support for Obama HHS nominee Sebelius while she was Kansas governor

UPDATE: Go here for the full A.P. disclosure - The Associated Press: Sebelius lowballed donations from abortion doctor

Catholic League: For Religious and Civil Rights

SEBELIUS-TILLER CONNECTION IS SICK

April 14, 2009

The Associated Press reports that in documents it recently reviewed, President Obama’s choice to head the department of health and human services, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, received three times as much money from late-term abortionist Dr. George Tiller than she previously acknowledged.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue weighed in on this issue today:

“The name Dr. George Tiller is synonymous with death. By his own admission, he has performed over 60,000 abortions. His specialty is killing babies in utero who are nearly born, or are already partially born. He is a master at that. This is the same guy who lavished Kathleen Sebelius with cash when she ran for office in Kansas: he knew what he was buying—a public official he knew wouldn’t betray him. Now we know how really generous he was.

“Sebelius testified that she received $12,450 from Tiller between 1994-2001. Here is what AP is reporting today: ‘What Sebelius left out: Campaign finance documents show that Tiller also contributed $10,000 to Sebelius’ Bluestem Fund PAC in September 2000, and his clinic, Women’s Health Care Services, contributed $8,000 to the PAC in December 2001 and another $5,000 in March 2002.’

“The real problem is not Sebelius’ habitual underreporting (she also had to pay more than $7,000 in back taxes): the real problem is the source of her PAC money. Tiller has to kill kids—he admits to killing 100 per week—in order to get the dough he needs to grease Sebelius. No wonder the last three archbishops of Kansas have publicly criticized her.

“If I were to inadvertently shake Tiller’s hand, I would immediately repair to the bathroom for a cleansing. I can’t imagine what kind of person would take tens of thousands of dollars from him, year after year, as well as throw parties for him in the Governor’s Mansion. Gives me the creeps just thinking about it.”

The Resurrection

The women 

 

An Eastern Icon rendering

 

Peter and the Beloved Disciple. Remember, the Beloved Disciple outran Peter to the tomb, but then waited for Peter to enter first (from John's account).

Good Friday: The First Exorcism

A meditation from Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, President of Human Life International (HLI)

The Mocking of Christ - Fra Angelico

 

St. Michael's exorcism of heaven is witnessed in the 12th chapter of the Book of Revelation where he forcefully casts out the ravenous dragon from God's realm, and his minions with him. The devil wanted to devour a new-born baby and deprive a woman of her motherhood - kind of like the abortion industry does today - but God would have nothing of it. Yet, Revelation also warns us of the consequences of that exorcism: "But woe to you, earth and sea, for the devil has come down upon you!" Woe, indeed.

The devil must also be cast from the earth to the one place where he belongs, in the hell that God created for him and his angels, and this definitive exorcism of the earth was accomplished on Good Friday. Jesus exorcised the devil from our lives by the one and only force that has the power to separate man from the devil and cast him out: His own Precious Blood. One week before His death the Lord Himself solemnly proclaimed that He would apply His authority in this way:

Now has judgment come upon this world; now will this world's prince be driven out, and I - once I am lifted up from the earth - will draw all men to myself (Jn 12:31-32).

These are powerful words for sure but not to be taken as just the pious hopes of a man with a death sentence. Jesus was telling us that He would do for us what no other death or human act could accomplish. He would place an absolute barrier between us and the devil with a wall of Blood called the Crucifixion. It all fits together for anyone who has eyes to see: He is the Paschal Lamb that was slain for the sins of His people; He is the new Passover sacrifice celebrated as His people departed the land of slavery; His is the Blood on the doorposts and lintels of His people's hearts guarding them from the angel of death. No wonder the Church "lifts up" the Cross of Christ for all men to see!

On Good Friday we must re-learn the value of this Blood for our sad world! By this Sacrifice the devil has indeed been cast out and has no power over those who have entered into the new covenant won by Christ at the cost of His Blood. The devil will continue to carry out his warfare against God's people, but his work now has no lasting consequences for those who choose Christ. Those who are freed by the Blood of Christ are free indeed. For this reason the Church exhorts us to remain in communion of mind and heart with the Church, the one place where this Sacrifice is celebrated daily. It is the only assurance we have of total protection from evil.

The Blood of Christ is also our greatest weapon against the evil that afflicts those we love. Do you have a loved one that is pierced by an addiction? Call Christ's Blood down upon him daily. Pray that the shed Blood will penetrate all the demonic bonds on his soul and break their grip. Do you have a family member or friend mired in an immoral lifestyle? Immerse her in Christ's Blood and symbolically bring her in prayer to Calvary to stand with Mary at the only place in the world the devil will not go. In time you will see the immense fruitfulness of that Sacrifice. It has the power to exorcise the world and free all its inhabitants from evil.

Today, Good Friday, the Day of our salvation, we proclaim in our Church's liturgy the immense hope we have for healing from the devil's malice:

Behold, behold, the wood of the Cross on which was hung our salvation! Come, let us worship!

Sincerely,

Fr. Thomas Euteneuer

Holy Thursday

Leonardo's classic

And here is the story of the painting -    The Last Supper (Leonardo) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michael Novak on Notre Dame

And a discussion of the two pro-Obama professors, Kmiec and Kaveney.

Notre Dame Disgrace by Michael Novak on National Review Online

Did the University of Notre Dame invite Sen. Stephen Douglas of nearby Illinois to receive an honorary degree in 1858? That was the year Douglas was defending the principle of choice: the right of western territories to make a choice between permitting slavery and maintaining liberty. His opponent in the most famous of American debates was Abraham Lincoln, also of Illinois. There and elsewhere, Lincoln made a simple point based on natural law and natural right: No man is in a position to will himself into slavery, so no one can commit another to slavery. On top of that, the Union itself cannot survive half-slave and half-free. Finally, the Declaration of Independence makes it brilliantly clear that every human being is endowed by his Creator with an inalienable right to liberty.

>>>>>>

I doubt very much whether the University of Notre Dame would ever give an honorary degree to a slave owner or a propagandist for slavery. Until recently, I used to doubt that Notre Dame would ever give an honorary degree and its highest platform — its commencement address — to someone who was one of the nation’s strongest proponents of abortion. In the eleven weeks since he became president, Barack Obama has opened up every avenue to abortion presented to him. He has begun razing every obstacle put up against the spread of this evil institution in the past — beginning with the Mexico City ban, and accelerating with extreme pro-death-in-the-womb nominees to key offices, promises to kill the Hyde Amendment, and other actions.

Bishop D'Arcy, of Notre Dame: "no one is allowed to say who sits at table of life"

UPDATE: Here is the video of Bishop D'Arcy's interview - Indiana's NewsCenter - Local & Regional - Video - Exclusive D'Arcy Interview

The Bishop was just about the first prelate to speak out, and he has spoken out eloquently.  He will not be attending the graduation, for the first time in 25 years. LifeNet: Bishop of South Bend - Notre Dame chooses "Prestige over Truth"

Here is a recent interview with Bishop D"Arcy - note his quote on President Obama's "experience with the laws". as well as the last sentence we have excerpted.

Notre Dame's Bishop on Obama's Pro-Abortion Views: "No One Is Allowed to Say Who Sits at Table of Life"

In a recent interview with a local Indiana news station, Bishop D'Arcy said he was stunned at the decision, especially since he was not informed until after it was made public. 

"This is giving a Doctorate of Laws to a person whose only experience with the laws ... has been anti-life laws," D'Arcy explained. 

D'Arcy also explained his reasons for boycotting the commencement ceremony where President Obama would be speaking. "If I'm up there on the platform, it must be OK," he said. "It's saying to the young people, 'Well, it's OK, it really doesn't matter."

The bishop said he feared that by inviting Obama, Notre Dame "has alienated itself from the Catholic community, from the bishops - many bishops are writing - from ordinary Catholic people."

Regarding Fr. Jenkins' reaction to D'Arcy's plan to boycott the ceremony, D'Arcy said, "I don't know if he understands my position.  I think he minds it, I think he's troubled by it, and I don't think he really is eager to talk about it too much."

"If he [Obama] came for a seminar, even on this issue, or on health care or something like that, that's what the University should be doing," said D'Arcy.  "But to honor someone with a doctorate of laws, and the only laws he has made are laws which are against innocent life." 

Notre Dame scandal petition: Signatories now over 253,000, priests of Fr. Jenkin's order protest his decision

Go here if you haven't signed, and forward to your friends and family.

Notre Dame Scandal > Home

Also, four more Bishops have spoken out, as well as 9 members of Fr. Jenkins own Order, the Congregation of the Holy Cross (C.S.C.).

Four More Bishops, 9 Holy Cross Priests Condemn ND Scandal

Said the priests: "The University pursues a dangerous course when it allows itself to decide for and by itself what part of being a Catholic institution it will choose to embrace."

The priests lamented "the fissure that the invitation ... has opened between Notre Dame and its local ordinary," and that the invitation "portends a distancing of Notre Dame from the Church."

"Although undoubtedly unintended, the University administration's decision portends a distancing of Notre Dame from the Church which is its lifeblood and the source of its identity and real strength," said the priests.  "Such a distancing puts at risk the true soul of Notre Dame." 

Notre Dame alumnus suggests "way forward" on Obama scandal

This is a compromise effort. The President as Commencement speaker, but  no Honorary Law Degree. hit the link for the complete article.

ND Scandal: A Way Forward: National Catholic Register

... Cardinal George also stressed it’s not an option for Notre Dame’s president, Holy Cross Father John Jenkins, to disinvite Obama because of the disrespect this would communicate towards the office of the President.

So what’s a reasonable way forward for Notre Dame, to address the scandal caused by its actions and restore its reputation as an authentically Catholic institution of higher education?

Dr. Donald Condit, a Catholic doctor and Notre Dame alumnus who lives in Michigan, offers this suggestion about how this could be done: Allow Obama to serve as commencement speaker, but refrain from bestowing upon him an honorary degree in order to communicate Notre Dame’s complete opposition to the president’s extreme anti-life political agenda.

Dr. Condit outlined his proposal in an email sent today to the Register:

“Obviously, Father Jenkins is in a very difficult position. A compromise would be for him to point out the commencement speaker invitations went out last fall to both candidates, consistent with historical precedent. Recently elected President Obama just accepted.

“However, since he has become president his policies have been contrary to the dignity deserved by vulnerable human beings.

“Since Father Jenkins in a humble servant of the Church, and in gratitude to bishops and cardinals as well as the Catholic community at large who have reminded him of his duty of fidelity to the Holy Father and Magisterium, Notre Dame cannot confer an honoris causa degree upon Barack Obama.

“Let the President of the United States come to campus.

“Honor the graduating students with a dignified commencement celebration — they deserve it!

“Mary Ann Glendon, faithful faculty, students, and the alumni will remind him and the world we are all created in the image and likeness of God and deserve respect from the moment of conception until natural death.”

Dr. Condit’s idea is definitely worth considering. And he has much more of a stake in the commencement controversy than most Catholics: He is a second-generation Notre Dame alumnus and his daughter is a member of the 2009 graduating class whose accomplishments will be celebrated at Notre Dame’s May 17 commencement.

As Dr. Condit said in a March 26 letter to Father Jenkins, “As a parent, as a Catholic, and as alumni, I am dismayed by your invitation to honor Barack Obama with a Notre Dame degree.

Bishop Lori of Bridgeport will not attend Sacred Heart University honoring of pro-abortion Catholic Kerry Kennedy

Bishop Lori also criticizes Notre Dame for their honoring and President Obama.

Cardinal Newman Society

Bishop William Lori of the Bridgeport Diocese, chairman of the Board of Trustees of Sacred Heart University (SHU), will boycott the university's Discovery Awards and Scholarship Dinner on April 22 because it will honor Kerry Kennedy, a pro-abortion Catholic, the Fairfield County Catholic reports. The bishop also expressed his disapproval of the University of Notre Dame’s decision to honor and host President Obama at commencement.

“The nearly quarter million people who have signed the petition opposing Notre Dame’s honoring of an abortion rights supporter will be thankful for Bishop Lori’s public boycott of Sacred Heart University,” said Patrick Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society. “SHU and all Catholic colleges must learn from the mistakes at Notre Dame, where defiance toward the U.S. bishops’ speakers and honorees policy has provoked outrage from Catholics nationwide.”

Sacred Heart University is a Catholic university located in Fairfield, CT. The university will honor Kerry Kennedy at its 20^th Annual Discovery Awards and Scholarship Dinner on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 in Old Greenwich, CT. Bishop Lori was an honoree at the 2004 dinner.

Bishop Martino of Scranton, PA., on Notre Dame honoring Obama

Again supplied to us from The Catholic Key blog of the Diocese of Kansas

Dear Father Jenkins,

The numerous, repeated and extensive anti-life positions taken by President Obama merit his recognition as an unequalled, prominent proponent of the culture of death in our nation. Given her Catholic identity, the University of Notre Dame’s receiving the President as the 2009 commencement speaker and her bestowing on him an honorary doctorate are truly shameful, a scandal to the Church and a major blow to hundreds of thousands who have sacrificed to bring forth a culture of life in our midst.

As a Diocesan Bishop and his Auxiliary we cannot overstress our disapproval of these actions by the University.

Through its President, His Eminence Cardinal George, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops acted swiftly and consistently to engage President Obama on human life issues. Your reported comment that “I think if he is going to reconsider his views, I think Notre Dame is the best possible place to begin that process” demeans, we believe, the intelligent urgency exercised by the nation’s bishops in this matter.

Moreover, your argument that honoring President Obama by granting a degree to him “is not intended to condone or endorse his position on specific issues regarding life” is no more than a blatant rejection of United States Bishops’ assessment of what Catholic institutions do when they so act. Their 2004 statement is absolutely clear. “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”

“Bishops have a particular responsibility to promote Catholic universities, and especially to promote and assist in the preservation and strengthening of their Catholic identity, including the protection of their Catholic identity in relation to civil authorities.” (Ex Corde Ecclesiae, no. 28) We are convinced that Notre Dame will one day very much regret rebuffing not only her own Bishop D’Arcy but also the USCCB’s efforts to fulfill their responsibilities in her regard.
Praying this conviction will prove untrue and that Notre Dame will immediately and resoundingly proclaim her Catholic identity in word and act, we are,


Sincerely yours in Our Lord,


Most Reverend Joseph F. Martino, D.D., Hist. E.D.

Bishop of Scranton


Most Reverend John M. Dougherty, D.D., V.G.

Auxiliary Bishop of Scranton

Catholic League press release on the defeat of conscience rights protection in the Senate

The full text:

CONSCIENCE RIGHTS DEFEATED

April 3, 2009

Yesterday an amendment introduced by Sen. Tom Coburn to protect the conscience of patients and healthcare providers was defeated by a vote of 56-41. The amendment was proposed in light of the Obama administration’s plans to rescind the rule, which was issued in December by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), that protects the right of healthcare workers at federally-funded facilities to refuse to perform or be involved in medical procedures that violate their consciences.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue spoke to this issue today:

“The failure of the administration and the Senate to protect freedom of conscience is an outrageous violation of human rights and a slap in the face to Catholics and other people of faith. No one in the healthcare field should ever be compelled by law to perform or assist in a procedure that violates his conscience. This should be an elementary right, yet there are those who want to trespass on it.

“Francis Cardinal George, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has called upon Catholics to let the government know that conscience protections are fundamental rights of Americans. He expressed concern that reversal of the current rule ‘would be the first step in moving our country from democracy to despotism.’ 

“Failure to protect the right of conscience, combined with overturning the Mexico City Policy, supporting the United Nations Population Fund, funding embryonic stem cell research and nominating radical abortion rights supporter Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to be the Secretary of HHS, sends the message to Catholics that their concerns are not important.

“We implore all lawmakers to reconsider this issue with an eye toward restoring the conscience rights of healthcare workers.”

 

This from "The Catholic Key " blog of Kansas Diocese - Archbishop Beltran and Bishop Thomas Doran on Notre Dame and President Obama

The Archbishop of Oklahoma City weighs in:

Reverend John I. Jenkins, CSC, President
University of Notre Dame
300 Main Building
South Bend, Indiana 46556

Dear Father Jenkins:

I am appalled, disappointed and scandalized! Notre Dame University has certainly turned against the Catholic Church. I believe you have a moral responsibility to withdraw the invitation to President Barack Obama to be your commencement speaker in May. I also ask that you refrain from giving him any award whatsoever.

President Obama has publicly and ruthlessly affronted the Catholic Church of America during the short time of his presidency. His single-handed actions have totally reversed decades of successes of the Church in the prolife cause. Needless to say, he deserves no honor or recognition from Notre Dame or any other Catholic institution.

Please have the courage to take this extraordinary stand in view of the extraordinary scandal you have generated.

May Our Lord and Savior and Giver of Life bless you during this penitential season of Lent.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Eusebius J. Beltran

Archbishop of Oklahoma City

And in case you missed it elsewhere, Rockford Bishop Thomas Doran has not minced words:

Reverend John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.
President
University of Notre Dame
400 Main Building
Notre Dame, IN 46556

Dear President Jenkins:

I wish to express in my own name and on behalf of the Catholic community of this Diocese, my dismay and outrage at your decision to invite the current President of the United States to address the 2009 graduates of the University of Notre Dame and to receive an honorary degree.

This decision of your flies in the face of the expressed directive of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in the year 2004, that Catholic institutions not so honor those who profess opposition to the Church’s doctrine on abortion and embryonic stem cell research.

I would ask that you rescind this unfortunate decision and so avoid dishonoring the practicing Catholics of the United States, including those of this Diocese. Failing that, please have the decency to change the name of the University to something like, “The Fighting Irish College” or “Northwestern Indiana Humanist University.” Though promotion of the obscene is not foreign to you, I would point out that it is truly obscene for you to take such decisions as you have done in a university named for our Blessed Lady, whom the Second Vatican Council called the Mother of the Church.

I sign myself

Very truly yours,
The Most Reverend Thomas G. Doran, D.D., J.C.D.
Bishop of Rockford