Why Obama Should Not Speak at Notre Dame

photo credit: leadenhall

Conservative Catholics are mad that Notre Dame invited President Obama to deliver its commencement address this spring. Over at America’s blog, Michael Sean Winters takes them to task, noting that the school plans to give its prestigious Laetare Award to Vatican Ambassador Mary Ann Glendon:

This crowd of conservatives does not own the Catholic Church. They certainly do not own Notre Dame. They are about to find out that they do not own Dr. Glendon either. The rest of us Catholics, however, must not let the public square think that they do. Our voices must be raised to say that we are thrilled such a distinguished Catholic university is considered such a part of the life of the nation that our President will be coming to address its graduates. We are thrilled that he will be sharing the stage with one of our Church’s and nation’s finest scholars and diplomats.

Winters’ point seems to be that Notre Dame’s twin decisions fulfill its mission of being a great national Catholic university, the place where powerful liberals and conservatives are honored and propose ideas. It is good that Notre Dame seeks out the best and brightest of both sides; a Catholic university, if it is to reflect Catholic social teaching and the Catechism, should not be a shill for one political party or movement, a point which conservative Catholics should acknowledge and state.

That said, Winters’ argument strikes me as a species of power worship: a Catholic university must honor the powerful regardless of his or her morality. I don’t see how this position reflects church teaching, much less the U.S. Bishops’ 2004 statement that public figures whose positions directly contradict the church should not be invited to speak at a church event.

To restate, Obama’s position on abortion is that human embryos and fetuses have no rights. Extending an invitation to someone with this viewpoint  is the equivalent of inviting of a segregationist; it would be like Notre Dame inviting Barry Goldwater in 1965. A central concern of Catholic universities should not be the prestige and attention a speaker brings to campus, but rather his or her dignity and honor.  Of course, Obama is unlikely to discuss the legal status of unborn humans, but whether he speaks about foreign policy or the role of faith in American life, his position on such a vital issue is a qualified endorsement of it.

Now extending invitations to national leaders is a messy task. Most politicians have positions that are dubious rather than immoral. Jimmy Carter, who delivered the university’s commencement address in 1977, said he would not work to overturn Roe v. Wade but would sign into law the Hyde Amendment; President Kennedy, the school’s commencement speaker in 1961, voted for the Southern Manifesto, the statement that opposed Brown v. Board of Education, but also expressed solidarity with Martin Luther King during the latter’s stint in jail in 1960. I don’t go as far as Amy Welborn in endorsing the idea that Catholic universities should stop inviting politicians altogether. I just think they ought to be more judicious.