Tulsa World: Slattery asks Notre Dame to withdraw Obama invitation

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Slattery asks Notre Dame to withdraw Obama invitation

Bishop Edward J. Slattery of the Diocese of Tulsa

By BILL SHERMAN World Religion Writer
Published: 3/31/2009 6:08 PM
Last Modified: 3/31/2009 7:30 PM

Bishop Edward J. Slattery of the Diocese of Tulsa has joined a national Catholic outcry over Notre Dame University’s decision to invite President Obama to speak at the May 17 graduation ceremony.

In a Tuesday letter, Slattery pleaded with the Notre Dame president, the Rev. John Jenkins, to withdraw the invitation and to cancel plans to honor Obama with an honorary doctoral degree.

“As you know,” Slattery wrote, “President Obama is aggressively promoting abortion on demand not only here in the United States but all over the world.”

He said that U.S. bishops in 2004 issued a statement that the Catholic community and Catholic institutions “should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles.”

A university spokesman told the Associated Press that Notre Dame does not intend to rescind the invitation, which Obama has accepted.

Notre Dame has a tradition of inviting new presidents to speak at graduation. Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush all spoke there.

Meanwhile, the protest continues.

As of 2:01 p.m. Tuesday, 221,776 people had signed an online petition by the Cardinal Newman Society protesting Obama’s speech.

The petition says the invitation is “an outrage and a scandal” and that Obama’s views “directly contradict fundamental Catholic teachings on life and marriage.”

The student newspaper has received hundreds of letters on the subject. Students generally favor Obama speaking, while alumni generally oppose

it.

Bishop John D’Arcy of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend (Ind.) said he will boycott the event, suggesting the university had chosen prestige over truth.

A new Gallup poll found that American Catholics are no more opposed to abortion than non-Catholics.

By BILL SHERMAN World Religion Writer

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Reader comments for this story have been moved to the most updated version of the story, now under the headline "Tulsa bishop: Rescind Obama invite," which was published on 4/1/2009. So far, 198 comments have been made.