Joseph Bottum has written the definitive piece at First Things and put it online for broad access. There are things in this essay you probably did not know.
An even better gauge of Jenkins’ failure is his alienation of John D’Arcy, the local bishop. For those who measure their bishops by their ecclesial politics, D’Arcy hardly ranks as a raging conservative. While an auxiliary bishop of Boston in the early 1980s, he reported to Cardinal Law about priests accused of abusing minors—for which he was apparently rewarded by being shipped out of Boston to the minor diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend in 1985. During the 1990s, while the American bishops were engaged in the seemingly endless discussion of how to implement Ex Corde Ecclesiae, it was D’Arcy who urged the bishops to delay even longer before imposing the requirement that Catholic theologians at Catholic colleges obtain amandatum from the local bishop.
To force this patient man away, Fr. Jenkins had to begin by failing to give him even a courtesy call while Obama’s honorary degree was being planned. On March 24, Bishop D’Arcy released a rather quiet but firm letter in which he said he would not attend the graduation ceremonies, since Notre Dame had violated the 2004 bishops’ statement, “Catholics in Political Life.” “President Obama has recently reaffirmed, and has now placed in public policy, his long-stated unwillingness to hold human life as sacred,” D’Arcy wrote. “I wish no disrespect to our president, I pray for him and wish him well. I have always revered the office of the presidency. But a bishop must teach the Catholic faith ‘in season and out of season,’ and he teaches not only by his words but by his actions. My decision is not an attack on anyone, but is in defense of the truth about human life.”
"The Definitive Essay on Obama, Notre Dame, and the Catholic Church"
Big thanks for posting this most excellent essay, Hunter.
When Obama won the election in 2008, I thought America had taken a decided turn for the worse. Incompetent defense by the conservative faithful.
When Obama accepts his honorary doctorate from Notre Dame this weekend, I will speculate that the Catholic Church in America has taken a decided turn for the worse. Incompetent defense by the conservative faithful.
To be genuine Salt and Light in a fallen world, there will likely be false accusations, malicious ridicule, and politics of personal destruction. Is it because of these unfortunate consequences that an unbelieving world witnesses incompetent defense by folks professing themselves to be the Conservative Faithful?
Posted by: Truth Unites... and Divides | May 14, 2009 at 11:59 AM
I agree it's a fantastic article, and I particularly agree with line about brandishing weapons from time to time.
But I wonder if he makes too much of the Catholic leadership, and universities, answering ultimately (yes, he says ultimately) to the faithful. While I think he's right to point out that at the heart of Catholic culture in the US is a pro-life stance, it is dangerous indeed to place too much weight on what the American Catholic laity have embraced as what it means to be faithful. In this case it works out because what is right and what is (within the American Catholic culture) popular coincide. On some other issues of Catholic teaching and American Catholic practice, the results are not so fortunate.
Surely the "ultimate" accountability is NOT to the laity . . .
Posted by: Micah | May 14, 2009 at 06:58 PM
It's not too late for Fr. Jenkins and Notre Dame to step back from leaping off the edge!
See this article about Truth vs. Prestige:
It is not quite a do-over, but it is close to that — a fresh opportunity to make things right. Nothing but the free choice of the responsible university officials — mainly, at this late juncture, Father Jenkins — will settle it. And he should seize this second chance by withholding the honorary degree from President Obama on Sunday afternoon.
"At the heart of the matter is the immorality — the sin — of scandal. Scandal is, basically, leading others into sin, in this case by clouding others’ understanding of the truth about abortion. Here, we are talking about the scandalous effects portended by America’s leading Catholic institution when it honors the most pro-abortion president in history. The atmosphere at graduation will be festive, and a packed house will rock it with a standing ovation for Obama. Notre Dame dignitaries and faculty will be photographed beaming as Obama extends his hand to a smiling Jenkins. It will be a visual spectacle of the first order."
"The question to be answered on Sunday is whether Notre Dame will choose to put its prestige and, yes, its de facto power to shape America’s Catholics at the service of the Church. Or will the university invest these gifts in its own agenda? It is indeed a choice between prestige and truth."
P.S. $50 says Jenkins won't back down and will still award Obama an honorary doctorate from Notre Dame. Any takers?
Posted by: Truth Unites... and Divides | May 15, 2009 at 02:08 PM