It seems that the University of Notre Dame has come up against a brick wall in the Catholic religion and has had to break tradition. Every year a distinguished and honoured recipient of the Laetare Medal is chosen. A law professor from Harvard, Mary Ann Glendon, refused the honour this year, although she was thrilled when she first heard from the Reverend John Jenkins that she had been chosen.
What was the reason for her refusal of the award which dates back to 1883 and has never missed a year of honour? Was it illness or a job-related condition which prevented her from refusing the award?
NO, she chose to opt out of the honor because the guest speaker at the convocation would be none other than Barack Obama, the President of the United States. WHY?
She took offence that Obama, who supports abortion under certain conditions and other anti-catholic extremist opinions, would be the guest speaker and she would not be comfortable with his company at the same convocation. She wrote a terse letter to Rev. Jenkins reminding him of his duties and how he had become slack in his responsibilities.
That was the final straw! How dare she turn down such an honour especially when the President has done such a good job of bringing some stability back to the educational field and some much needed guidance to the American people. President Obama means just as much to his constituents as does any priest to his congregation. It is unconscionable for an educated woman from another university to dishonour her President for appearing at the same convocation as she.
Other Catholic honourees in the past have been John F Kennedy and Martin Sheen and some other actors or musicians. I would feel much safer in the presence of President Obama.