‘How not to express faith convictions’

The Superior General of The Congregation of Holy Cross, which originally founded the University of Notre Dame and still fills the presidency there, recently issued a letter to President Barack Obama. It’s very long…

It starts off cordially:

Dear Mr. President,

Congratulations on being awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Notre Dame.

Rev. Cleary takes pains to be cordial and correct at the open. But this thing is 13 pages long for a reason.

In his 5,319-word letter, released in its entirety on April 1, Cleary says that he has great respect for Obama – “a person endowed with extraordinarily well developed intellectual gifts” and “enormous compassion” who has “the potential for greatness.”
 
However, Cleary emphasizes that Obama’s policy views on the “life issues” cannot be supported by Notre Dame or the “faithful Catholic community.”
 
“President Obama, your presence at Notre Dame, a premier Catholic institution, is regarded by many good Catholics as scandalous because of your support of abortion rights, regarded by us as an intrinsic evil,” Cleary stated.

“In awarding you this degree, they experience Notre Dame as undermining essential, intrinsic Catholic dogma which upholds the dignity of human life. They believe that in honoring you or in giving you a platform to speak, the University of Notre Dame is selling her soul for who knows what: perhaps, at best, for the prestige and glory of having the president of the United States on campus ….” Cleary added.
 
Cleary then explains that, as a Catholic, he finds it harder and harder to participate in America’s political and electoral process because he sees both parties as incapable of defending innocent human life – simply, if a politician does not oppose the killing of children – at any stage of development – what is the point?

Yes, it is difficult to see one party as aligning with the complete and pure and well-grounded defense of the rights of all human beings. Amazing, when you think of it.

Cleary then proposes that faithful Catholics could consider shunning the president “or any other government leader, who upholds what we believe to be the intrinsic evil of abortion and who is willing to sign the FOCA legislation.”
 
FOCA, the Freedom of Choice Act, would lift all restrictions on abortion nationwide – and Obama pledged to sign the legislation into law if it passes in Congress.
 
“President Obama, would you really sign into law a bill like FOCA, which would force faith-based hospitals and health care facilities to perform abortions? Would you deny doctors and health care professionals their most precious human freedom in choosing life?” writes Cleary. “[I]n your logic it will be lawful to choose abortion but it will be a crime to choose life.”

That’s the tension Obama holds in his own convictions.

“And so now today we are engaged in a great civil war over conscience formation,” Cleary wrote. “The defense of human life is an obligation for all humanity, not just for Catholics.”
 
In his letter, Cleary also criticizes the national news media in America, who he says do all that they can to prevent Catholic politicians from bringing their “faith convictions into the culture wars of legislating for the common good.”

Now as much as ever, given the results of the last election, and the role of Catholics in it. Confusions abounds.

“Unfortunately, the current newsmakers clearly find Catholic bashing in vogue,” Cleary said. “They ridicule the Church’s rich social and spiritual teaching with inane sound bytes meant to undermine the teaching authority of the Church in fostering a good and just civilization of love.”
 
Given the power of the news media, Cleary said, “From what platform, then, ought Catholics to speak? Can we only shun the political world and thereby risk losing our souls to a possible spiritual death through indifference or self-righteousness? It seems shunning has become our only choice.”
 
In closing his letter to Obama, Rev. Cleary wrote: “The defense of all human life is the great truth standing before the door of our lives in American society today. I pray that the nation will open that door of truth and walk through it.