An Open Letter to Notre Dame

Tsk Tsk where was her outrage at the than Cardinal Raz..our much cleebrated Pontif when in 2001 the Cardinal sent a letter to all Cathoilc Bishops reminding them of the Papal letter of 1962 which outlined how Catholic Bishops should respond in the matter of solicitation (pedophile priests) in this letter of 2001 Bishops were reminded they were to keep secret any information pertaining to these priests under the penalty of Excommunication. Our church continues to turn its back on its flock who were used and abused by known pedophile priests under the watchful eye of the diocese and Vatican. Today the church continues to turn its back on these abused victims and continue to act according to the Papal letter of 1962. Where is your outrage ????

Hopefully she is also outraged by the fact the church has allowed enablers of child abusers to keep their high ranking church positions. She loves unborn children. If only the church had the same zero tolerance for living children.

A Former Catholic

PS. Don't hold your breadth. It took the church several hundred years to admit Galileo was right.

I am a practicing Catholic.

The hypocrisy of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (and their related advisory folks) is galling. Where were they when priests were raping children in their care? They have no moral authority.........once a coward, always a coward.

Could someone point me to a President who did anything to curb a woman's right to chose after Roe vs. Wade? Obama seems to actually be somewhat anti abortion, but the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that abortion cannot be illegal. Would the woman prefer that we have Bush make a speach, he said he was against abortion but he never actually did anything to stop abortions. In fact Bush's rediculous policies of "abstinence only teaching" probably caused millions of unnecissary pregnancies, many of which surely ended in abortions.

I am a Catholic, and I was appalled by the way the Church handled the pedophile Priests. For those guys there was forgiveness, but for a man who is an inspiration to young and old alike, who has led an exemplary life and who's "sin" is that he supports the Constitutional guarantee of a woman's right to chose, the chuch seems to have no wiggle room at all.

I am catholic, and I am perplexed by the strong opposition of some catholic bishops to the president's invitation. I can't help but wonder if there are other unstated reasons for this opposition. On this matter President Obama has stated that he does not encourage abortion. He supports "a woman's right to choose", which by the way, is the law of the land. He is also in support of more pragmatic ways to decrease cases of abortion through education.

The irony is that these bishops, who live in stain glass houses, looked the other way for years while children in their care were serially molested are now throwing the proverbial stone.

Oh puhleeze! These people are ALL PRO DEATH PENALTY, AND COULDN'T CARE LESS WHAT HAPPENS TO ALL THESE BABIES ONCE THEY'RE BORN, unless of course, they get to molest them!
HYPOCRITES

georgestatton ...as Pope Bendict wisely stated, he'd rather have a smaller more devout Church then a larger church full of individuals playing God.
I've never understood why the Church would alienate anyone simply by stating God's expectations? I mean, think about it...if you are an atheist, you shouldn't care what the Church has to say; however, if you are a believer, you should want to know what God expects from you...unless, of course, you'd prefer to attend the church of the cafeteria...picking and choosing what to believe based on your own convenience....if that is what you are looking for, there are 30,000 plus protestant denominations in the U.S. that should fill your need; however, I doubt that finding a church that makes you feel good about your sin is going to gain you any brownie points at the Pearly Gates.

Tersans....interesting...since you alone have the answers on what to believe, then you must be god...impressive.
With all due respect, I'll take my chances on the Catholic Church that Jesus Christ founded and placed His authority upon rather then on the church of Tersans.

The whole situation reminds me of the all the difficulties that the world religions have led the human race into. The Catholic church has at times been above such but no longer and seemingly not under this Pope. Ms. Glendon shows that even educated and outstanding representatives of the human race can also be misled and whole fully misunderstand what God's words were not what the human minders of the church tell us they were. Maybe I am not as educated as most but I do believe on my own not by or through through someone else telling me what to believe.

Oh people...please, prior to commenting, at least understand what you are commenting about.
sfthinker ....Mary Ann Glendon isn't just picking "any old issue" to stand against...please read my previous post about the 5 non-negotiables. Finally, if the definition of tolerance, as demonstrated by our illustrious president, includes supporting the murder of innocent human beings, then count me among the intolerant.

It is hard to imagine how any U.S. president could be invited to Notre Dame under the strict interpretation offered by Mary Ann Glendon. Would a president at war be prohibited under the "Thou Shalt Not Kill" commandment? Would a Jewish president be similarly unwelcome? How could any Protestant president be welcome, considering the significant fundamental differences in the two Christian schools of thought? Or is this just a stand limited to the political issue of abortion? In which case Mary Ann Glendon's stand is utter hypocrisy - just pick the issues that matter to you and ignore the others. It's a good thing President Obama isn't as intolerant as the Catholic Church seems to be.

pwalnutz....you are mis-informed. The Church IS opposed to capital punishment, but it is not one of the 5 non-negotiables; Abortion, human cloning, embryonic stem-cell research, homosexual "marriage", and euthanasia. A Catholic can engage in honest debate over capital punishment; however, there is no debate over the 5 non-negotiables as they are ALWAYS intrinsically evil. Therefore, they cannot be debated, relagated to opinion, etc. And no Catholic institution can honor anyone who supports any of the 5 non-negotiables. In short, there is no comparison between 143 executions and 45 million innocents slaughtered since 1973. That is not hypocracy, that is truth.

I seem to recall that President George W. Bush was invited to speak at Notre Dame during his term. As Govenor of Texas the former President over saw 143 executions and wad a support of capiltal punishment. Isn't the Catholic church opposed to capital punishment based on the same moral grounds as theri opposition to abortion? I don't recall any of the "devouted" speaking out against his appearance. In some places this would defined as hypocracy.

I seem to recall that President George W. Bush was invited to speak at Notre Dame during his term. As Govenor of Texas the former President over saw 143 executions and wad a support of capiltal punishment. Isn't the Catholic church opposed to capital punishment based on the same moral grounds as theri opposition to abortion? I don't recall any of the "devouted" speaking out against his appearance. In some places this would defined as hypocracy.

Just like a good catholic should act. By all means suppress all dissenting opinion. Your church, and you by your letter, continue to show how dysfunctional you are. Get a life and don't be so learned Harvard full of yourself. Quick, hide my grandchildren.......they're coming!

Just like a good catholic. Suppress those who disagree under the veil of following the church and it's bishops. Wow, no wonder your church is so messed up. As a matter of fact, the whole institution is dysfunctional. Get a life!

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."

The 2004 paper referred to Catholics who act in defiance. Regarding sanctity of life--what about waterboarding and the death penalty. Should the Church issue a stance on everything and then only those who agree with every issue be allowed to attend Commencement.