Vocal bishops

The Notre Dame controversy is not going to diminish in depth or breadth. Leaving aside the chatter and debate on blogs and websites (which is way beyond tracking), just keeping up with the latest statements from US bishops is a daunting task.

But we have help….

The Cardinal Newman Society has linked most of them on one site, which helps enormously to stay on top of the latest. Scroll down their homepage to see all the snips. There are many.

ND president is speaking out as well. He’s interpreting what the bishops meant in their statement that a Catholic institution shouldn’t do what Notre Dame is doing.

Father John Jenkins, the president of Notre Dame, cited the US bishops’ 2004 document, “Catholics in Political Life,” to justify the school’s invitation to President Barack Obama to speak at commencement. In a letter to the university’s trustees, Father Jenkins argued that the thrust of the document supported the invitation. Although the bishops’ statement asked Catholic colleges not to honor public figures who reject Church teachings on key moral issues, the Notre Dame president claimed that this injunction applied only to Catholics public figures, and since Obama is not Catholic, his contempt for the ‘culture of life’ is not disqualifying.

Let’s look at what that 2004 statement said. It’s pretty brief and 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.”

As I said here earlier…

Seems to me that “those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles” covers anyone who does so.

It doesn’t say “those Catholics”.

Some are parsing words these days. Others aren’t sparing them.