Posted by
RME KRNL on Tuesday, June 02, 2009 3:04:02 PM
In May 1995, as Pennsylvania governor, Tom Ridge was invited by Gannon University, a Catholic college in Erie, PA, to give the commencement address and receive an honorary degree. But the distinguished Republican native son had a problem: he was a pro-choice Catholic. Erie Bishop Donald Trautman expressed his “concerns" and Governor Ridge declined the degree.
“The last thing I would want is for those differences to distract in any way from this wonderful day of recognition for Gannon’s class of 1995,” said Ridge. Although he perhaps does not correctly understand the teachings of his own religion -- that, if you claim to be truly Catholic, you cannot be pro-choice -- Ridge did do the right thing in refusing the honorary degree. He did "the character thing."
Even as far back as June 1974, shortly after Roe v. Wade became law, the famous Cardinal Joseph Mindszenty refused an invitation and honorary degree from the University of Santa Clara because of an abortion controversy involving the university. Mindszenty also did "the character thing."
Obviously, this is relevant because of the recent situation with President Obama and Notre Dame (or as I now sometimes call it, Notre Shame). Obama delivered the commencement address and received an honorary degree from Notre Dame, courtesy of the invitation and insistence of university president John Jenkins.
The invitation caused a tremendous scandal. In fact, Catholic Church officials used precisely that word -- "scandal” -- which has a pejoratively loaded meaning within the Catholic Church. One Vatican official even called the Notre Dame situation "the greatest scandal."
Countless letters and 350,000 signatures from Catholics all across America flooded into Notre Dame, demanding that Jenkins rescind the invitation or resign. Millions of dollars in donations from alumni are in jeopardy. Arrests of protesters began even before the commencement address and also continued afterward.
Notre Dame's bishop, John D’Arcy, carefully instructed Father Jenkins that his invitation stood in “clear” violation of the American bishops’ guidelines, openly articulated in their statement "Catholics in Political LIfe." Jenkins rebuffed D’Arcy, who, in turn, refused to attend the graduation for the first time in 25 years as bishop. Bishop D’Arcy did "the character thing."
The other speaker scheduled for the day, renowned Catholic stateswoman, former ambassador to the Vatican and Harvard law professor Mary Ann Glendon, also did not attend, refusing at the same time the school's prestigious Laetare Medal, which she would have received alongside Obama and which, because of her long-standing work for Catholicism, she had earned, as opposed to Obama's honorary doctorate in law which he had not earned. (I say that because an honorary doctorate in any field is supposed to be for a "significant body of work" in that field which somehow advances that field, and Obama hasn't been around long enough to perform a "significant body of work" in any field yet.) So, Glendon also did "the character thing."
Additional priests and church officials, plus students, boycotted the ceremony. Voices condemning Notre Dame have ranged from Norma McCorvey -- "Jane Roe” herself, who is now a pro-life Catholic -- to Archbishop Raymond Burke, head of the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican's highest court, who calls Obama “an agent of death.”
Surely, Obama knew of all the controversy which his invitation to speak was causing. After all, he's the president. He's briefed on up-to-the-minute stuff all the time, plus he can find out anything about any of us or almost anything he wants to, any time he wants to. (I know, scary, huh?) But, despite knowing about all the consternation that his commencement address was causing, both inside and outside the Catholic Church, Obama still couldn't do "the character thing."
Instead, he showed up, gave that big, blinding smile, that slightly less than imperial wave of the hand, and teleprompted his way through another speech, full of moral relativism, compromise, appeasement and "coming together" but lacking in real substance and, in some regards, even in common sense. If your religion teaches you that murder is a SIN, what "middle ground," what "grand compromise" can you find with those who advocate the killing of innocents who are alive, either still inside, or outside, the womb? There is none.
Oh, and His Narcissistic Self also "graciously" accepted his honorary doctorate in law which he hadn't earned, either. Well, it would have been "rude" to turn it down, wouldn't it? Maybe, but at the same time it would have been more honest at least, as well as a mark of character at best.
I'm not yet sure if our new "Emperor" has no clothes, but I think I've already seen enough to doubt that he has much real class or character. If he did, he would more often choose to do "the character thing" and he would do it with class.