Mary Ann Glendon to Notre Dame: I Will Not Be A Cover For You Inviting Obama

Mary Ann Glendon Declines Notre Dame ‘Laetare Medal’ Due to Selection of Obama as Commencement Speaker

Manassas, Va. – At the news of Ambassador Mary Ann Glendon’s decision to decline the University of Notre Dame’s offer of the prestigious Laetare Medal and a speaking platform on account of the selection of President Obama as commencement speaker, Cardinal Newman Society president Patrick J. Reilly issued the following statement:
“Mary Ann Glendon is one of the most accomplished Catholic and pro-life leaders of our time. In heroic fashion, she has willingly sacrificed an award that she richly deserves, as a casualty of Notre Dame's choice to betray its Catholic mission. We urge Catholics nationwide to continue to pray that Notre Dame will end this scandal.”
Below is the text of the Honorable Mary Ann Glendon’s letter to the president of The University of Notre Dame, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.

April 27, 2009

The Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.

President

University of Notre Dame

Dear Father Jenkins,
When you informed me in December 2008 that I had been selected to receive Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal, I was profoundly moved. I treasure the memory of receiving an honorary degree from Notre Dame in 1996, and I have always felt honored that the commencement speech I gave that year was included in the anthology of Notre Dame’s most memorable commencement speeches. So I immediately began working on an acceptance speech that I hoped would be worthy of the occasion, of the honor of the medal, and of your students and faculty.
Last month, when you called to tell me that the commencement speech was to be given by President Obama, I mentioned to you that I would have to rewrite my speech. Over the ensuing weeks, the task that once seemed so delightful has been complicated by a number of factors.
First, as a longtime consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, I could not help but be dismayed by the news that Notre Dame also planned to award the president an honorary degree. This, as you must know, was in disregard of the U.S. bishops’ express request of 2004 that Catholic institutions “should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles” and that such persons “should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.” That request, which in no way seeks to control or interfere with an institution’s freedom to invite and engage in serious debate with whomever it wishes, seems to me so reasonable that I am at a loss to understand why a Catholic university should disrespect it.
Then I learned that “talking points” issued by Notre Dame in response to widespread criticism of its decision included two statements implying that my acceptance speech would somehow balance the event:
• “President Obama won’t be doing all the talking. Mary Ann Glendon, the former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, will be speaking as the recipient of the Laetare Medal.”
• “We think having the president come to Notre Dame, see our graduates, meet our leaders, and hear a talk from Mary Ann Glendon is a good thing for the president and for the causes we care about.”
A commencement, however, is supposed to be a joyous day for the graduates and their families. It is not the right place, nor is a brief acceptance speech the right vehicle, for engagement with the very serious problems raised by Notre Dame’s decision—in disregard of the settled position of the U.S. bishops—to honor a prominent and uncompromising opponent of the Church’s position on issues involving fundamental principles of justice.
Finally, with recent news reports that other Catholic schools are similarly choosing to disregard the bishops’ guidelines, I am concerned that Notre Dame’s example could have an unfortunate ripple effect.
It is with great sadness, therefore, that I have concluded that I cannot accept the Laetare Medal or participate in the May 17 graduation ceremony.
In order to avoid the inevitable speculation about the reasons for my decision, I will release this letter to the press, but I do not plan to make any further comment on the matter at this time.
Yours Very Truly,
Mary Ann Glendon

Mary Ann Glendon is Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. A member of the editorial and advisory board of First Things, she served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican from 2007 to 2009.

______________

1. I applaud her decision to say no. She saw the ND was using her to say that the commencement would be a discussion of the issues. She knew it wouldn't & is refusing to go along with ND's charade.

2. This is going to leave ND in a bad position. At this point, any other real Pro-Life Catholic will also say no. & giving it to someone like Kmiec will just make the scandal worse.

3. Her pre-emptive release of her letter clearly show that she knew ND might try & spin her decision if she didn't. So she said what she had to, got it out there, & now, let the chips fall where they may. She has done the right thing & it speaks for itself. She has shown class, & smarts.

4. Fr. Jenkins clearly better be preparing to resign. But the Board of Trustees better take their share of the blame as they are usually the ones who approve an honorary degree. & this mess is not going to fade away so easily as they hope either. ND is either going to have to become authenticly Catholic or face the lose of big donors & its position in Catholic education. Both of which could be fatal.

_________

Added @ 12:49 am on 28 April 2009

Here is the text of Fr. Jenkin's reply: "We are, of course, disappointed that Professor Glendon has made this decision. It is our intention to award the Laetare Medal to another deserving recipient, and we will make that announcement as soon as possible." See point 2 above for how I see that playing out.

Also a bit more on point 4. ReplaceJenkins.com, a national effort consisting of Notre Dame graduates and financial supporters, announced Monday that they have personally confirmed over $8.2 million in withheld donations. In a press release, contact person David DiFranco (Class of '95) said: "The website ReplaceJenkins.com has received over 900 pledges from alumni and donors promising to withhold future donations. Several of the largest gifts include estate bequests to the University that have been removed from donors’ wills. ReplaceJenkins.com organizers have personally confirmed a majority of the largest donations, and continue to verify the validity of millions of additional gifts."

“The process of verifying the largest donors has been carefully conducted,” DiFranco explained. “We dismissed the obvious bogus submissions, and are not counting a huge number of larger donations that we are still in the process of verifying. We are speaking directly with donors, and in several cases we have spoken with estate attorneys to confirm that Notre Dame has been stripped from a donor’s will. We are going about this process with a critical eye in order that that the numbers we report are accurate. For that reason, the $8.2 million we are reporting today is actually very conservative.”

The website has been up for just a little over a week now. From the title it is clear that they are also calling for Jenkins to resign or be fired as well. (Source: Notre Dame Loses $8.2 Million in Withheld Donations over Obama Scandal)

Meanwhile, the number of Bishops who have spoken up to express their disapproval is growing. According to a LifeSite News report, as of 27 April 2008 the count stands at 48. A good number of them have specificly cited the 2004 directive by the U.S. Bishops Conference (USCCB) forbidding Catholic institutions from honoring pro-abortion politicians. That is the directive that Fr. Jenkins says doesn't apply in this case. Let's see 48 Bishops or Fr. Jenkins? Not that the majority is always right, but in this case I would say the Bishops are better interpreters of their document than Jenkins is.