Students at U. Notre Dame issue a statement

You might want to check this.

A group of student organizations have issued a statement about the upcoming commencement at the University of Notre Dame, including

Notre Dame Right to Life
The Irish Rover Student Newspaper
Notre Dame College Republicans
The University of Notre Dame Anscombe Society
Notre Dame Identity Project
Militia of the Immaculata
Children of Mary
Orestes Brownson Council
Notre Dame Law School Right to Life
Notre Dame Law St Thomas More Society
The Federalist Society at Notre Dame Law School

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
This entry was posted in SESSIUNCULA. Bookmark the permalink.

32 Comments

  1. Frank H says:

    Bravo!

  2. Tom says:

    What if they had a graduation and no one showed up?

    A forgettable speaker spoke and I stayed home. A thunderstorm rained down on those who attended and my diploma was received in the mail the following week.

  3. St Michael devotee says:

    What if they showed up and for the duration of the speech left their seats and knelt in prayer, preferably facing away for the dais, perhaps a Rosary for Life? or many iterations of the St Michael prayer?
    It would be quiet, would block no ones view, or interfere with another’s desire to hear, and make the point.

    Even one person could do this, if so inspired.

  4. Joel L says:

    The sutdent has become the teacher.

  5. Joel L says:

    oops! ‘student’

  6. Jon says:

    Bravo, indeed.

    My brother’s son is a junior at ND.

    My hope is that the seniors graduating take out their Rosaries, and begin praying them LOUDLY once the honoree begins his address.

    I’d usually counsel respectful silence on such an occasion, but this cannot be allowed to stand. Silence would be taken by the enemies of the Church as consent. Pelosi-Biden and Co. would use tapes of the event to purvey their poison. If, on the other hand, recordings are marred by of all things, prayer, you can be sure any record of the event will be dropped into a black hole, and never seen on the nightly news.

  7. Liz Fitzmaurice says:

    Wow – that fills me with hope! Amen.

  8. supertradmom says:

    Hooray, again! Maybe this generation will change the academic climate of our Catholic colleges and universities in the future,when they are teachers, lawyers, etc.

  9. Tomas says:

    Sounds like there might be a “whole lotta protestin’ goin’ on.” God bless these groups, they are the hope of our future.

  10. Tominellay says:

    …thinking these young men and women deserve honorary degrees from a Catholic University…

  11. Kevin L says:

    Makes your heart swell with pride to see the youngsters stand and be counted. Fr. Jenkins would do well to have them teach him a thing or two about being a CATHOLIC.

  12. Rancher says:

    The quickest ticket to getting Obama to cancel (since fr Jenkins won’t initiate the cancellation) would be for the pro-life students to make it very clear well in advance that they will quietly leave their seats during BO’s address, face away from him, kneel, and silently pray. BO and his handlers would pull out in a heartbeat as his gigantic ego will not allow anything but fawning admiration to occur in his presence.

  13. paul says:

    I just think about the hypocrisy of liberals- they think it cool to invite pro-abortionists to Catholic colleges- but one wonders just how liberal they would be if it was a matter of inviting a racist, or a Nazi as a commencement speaker- all three types of people promote evil practices.

  14. Anthony says:

    Pray for the students at Notre Dame, they’ve got a battle ahead of them.

  15. Bill in Texas says:

    paul — and one wonders if U.C. Berkeley would ever consider inviting, say, a noted pro-Life spokesperson or the Pope to deliver the commencement address at that institution — and would the students be talking about praying quietly or would they bring sound trucks and bullhorns to drown out the words they did not want to hear?

    I’m not holding my breath.

  16. TerryC says:

    During this year’s March for Life I had the good fortune to be marching just in front of the very well represented group from UND. I’ve suspected from the time that I first heard of this affront to Our Lady that students who would travel 500 miles to stand in the cold during January for a good part of a day in support of the unborn would not sit quietly by while their beloved University was engaged in scandal.
    Bravo. My prayers go with them.

  17. chironomo says:

    The beauty of this is that it is, in a very real sense, using tactics that are generally the domain of the Left: The petition and protest, The Letter of Objection with numerous signatories published in the school paper, the planning of coordinated events leading up to the event…this sounds more like a plan hatched by the SDS than a pro-life protest of a far-left President speaking at a Catholic University. If things get too much louder however, the ‘Bamster will probably back out, citing an important appearance on Oprah or some such thing as a schedule conflict… I would rather see him arrive and be publicly humiliated.

  18. chironomo says:

    Oh..

    I would rather see him arrive and be publicly humiliated…and THEN leave!

  19. depeccatoradvitam says:

    Perhaps the alumni should be standing up to deny alumni foundation funding to their alma mater of our Mater.

    Where does ultimate authority come down for these “Catholic” institutions? Can the Church under canon law or secular law sue for defamation? Or, removal of “Catholic” form their name. Who could issue interdict?

    A warning shot across the bow must take place with a timeline to act.

  20. Mike says:

    Students tend to protest about some nutty issues a lot of the time, but here’s a chance to stand up for something truly great – the dignity of the unborn. I hope the majority of them make good use of the opportunity.

    (I wonder if this wasn’t Fr. Jenkins’ hidden intention or am I giving him too much benefit of the doubt?)

  21. Mark says:

    If this unfortunate decision is not changed:

    Pro-life students at ND should consider attending an alternate graduation ceremony, and for undergraduates, a transfer to a Catholic college worthy of the name.

    This would be a more compelling public witness than a petition. Consider this a graduate level test of your convictions, given to you by a Higher Source.

  22. I only wish that the other students on campus would speak out against this. In walking around campus I only ever overhear students complaining about the opposition to the invitation. Most people are either 1) tired of all the fuss, or 2) in full support of President Obama coming to campus. I do hope, however, that the donors who are opposed to this consider redirecting their charitable giving to the pro-life fund recently set up on campus, that would probably be quite a boon.

  23. MargaretMN says:

    Other than not showing up at all, the kneeling in silent prayer idea is the best one, IMHO. A bunch of people yelling the rosary doesn’t convey the right image of moral high ground, it’s like every other protest on every other campus (fascist, for a group to shout a speaker down) and with the rosary involved, it seems vaguely sacrilegious. Blocking the aisles and doing anything physically disruptive carries its own problems. The point is not to give scandal, it’s to point out that scandal has been given.

  24. Mitchell NY says:

    In the bitter end the President does not care. He will be there and do his thing….What does it matter to him if a few people stay home in protest. It is not his graduation or affect his principles. This farce at Notre Dame will only up the ante one further against Catholicism in the US. A sad day indeed for many..

  25. Collegeville reject says:

    I agree with you Mark it seems the only things, that in a situation such as this, that can get attention is media and money. Students (and parents) need to find more solid ground in a different U and take thier wallet with them.

  26. John says:

    I support the students.

  27. I strongly disagree with suggestions to treat the President with disrespect, or, as someone said, to “humiliate him.” No! I think he shouldn’t have been invited, but–if invited, he is to be treated with courtesy due anyone, and respect due his office.

    I would urge the students not to turn their backs or walk out; I didn’t care for that when it was President Bush, and I feel the same way with President Obama. Go–or don’t go. But don’t disrupt.

    Now, if they all prayed the rosary quietly — not disrupting — that would be very good.

  28. Rose says:

    I think the kneeling in prayer facing away from the speaker and then processing out en masse, students and their parents, in a dignified manner, holding up small (the Secret Service will not allow big signs) that say “No selling our Catholic identity to the vulgar lust for prestige” during the President’s speech, would send a good message. The parents and students can then go proceed in a Eucharistic procession to Mass celebrated by the good Bishop on campus, preferably close to where the commencement ceremonies are taking place and preferably in a TLM with glorious Gregorian chant, etc. etc. worthy of a real celebration of graduation, at which the Catholic bishop as the homilist is actually the speaker. Just make sure there is press coverage and let the others listen to a teleprompted speech.

  29. Rose says:

    I meant “small signs”.

  30. butterflidi says:

    This is awesome news. We must pray that the movement grows and trust that these brave and blessed students will bring God’s truth and beauty into this cold, dark, and evil nightmare.

    All praise to You Our Lord Jesus Christ!

  31. irishgirl says:

    Bravo to the good students of Notre Dame!

    Stand with Our Lady, brave Catholic youth! Stand with her Son, the ‘Lion of Judah’! May she defend you, ‘as terrible as an army set in array’!

  32. Br. Andre says:

    The linked website provides information about the Eucharistic Procession at Notre Dame on April 26th. Come pray with us for a culture of life. The procession ends with a solemn blessing from the steps of the Golden Dome. Seriously, prayers are often better than protests.

Comments are closed.