Notre Dame President Comments on Bishops Document

How can Father Jenkins maintain his interpretation of the Bishops' statement when so many of the bishops themselves have given the exact opposite interpretation?

MANASSAS, Va. (Cardinal Newman Society) - Rev. John Jenkins, C.S.C., president of the University of Notre Dame, expressed his disagreement with the U.S. bishops' interpretation of the 2004 USCCB document "Catholics in Political Life" in a correspondence sent to Notre Dame's Board of Trustees which was obtained by LifeSiteNews.com.

Despite the fact that most of the 29 U.S. bishops who have publicly criticized Notre Dame for honoring President Obama have cited "Catholics in Political Life" as foundational to their arguments, Father Jenkins says the university has "tried to follow both the letter and the spirit of its recommendations."

"Catholics in Political Life" states: "The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."

Notably, Father Jenkins interprets the above text to only apply to Catholics, and hence not to President Obama.

"How can Father Jenkins maintain that his interpretation of the Bishops' statement is correct when so many of the bishops themselves, including Notre Dame's own bishop, have given the exact opposite interpretation?" asked Patrick Reilly, president of The Cardinal Newman Society, whose petition at NotreDameScandal.com has surpassed 255,000 signers. "Who is he to reinterpret the bishops' own statement?"

"In his statement, Father Jenkins once again attempts to argue that Notre Dame is not suggesting support for the president's abysmal record on life issues," said Reilly. "And yet it is plainly clear to more than two dozen bishops, thousands of students and alumni and the more than a quarter million petition signers that Notre Dame has betrayed Catholic values."

The following is the statement Father Jenkins sent to the Board of Trustees at the University of Notre Dame:

In June 2004, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement, "Catholics in Political Life." A number of people have quoted this document with regard to Notre Dame's invitation to President Obama to be its Commencement Speaker and receive an honorary degree. Our interpretation of this document is different from the one that has been imposed by those criticizing us, and I wanted to explain our understanding.

The 2004 document was clearly adopted by the Bishops as provisional. As the document says, "[h]aving received an extensive report from the Task Force on Catholic Bishops and Catholic Politicians, and looking forward to the full report, we highlight several points from the interim report that suggest some directions for our efforts...." Nevertheless, despite its provisional character, this document has been used by all the people at Notre Dame who recommend speakers for commencement or others for honorary degrees since its publication. We have tried to follow both the letter and the spirit of its recommendations.

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Two key sentences of the document have been frequently quoted regarding the invitation to President Obama:

"Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."

Because the title of the document is "Catholics in Political Life", we understood this to refer to honoring Catholics whose actions are not in accord with our moral principles. This interpretation was supported by canon lawyers we consulted, who advised us that, by definition, only Catholics who implicitly recognize the authority of Church teaching can act in "defiance" of it. Moreover, fellow university presidents have told me that their bishops have told them that in fact it is only Catholic politicians who are referred to in this document.

In addition, regardless of how one interprets the first sentence, the second is also important. It reads: "They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions. [My italics]" In every statement I have made about the invitation of President Obama and in every statement I will make, I express our disagreement with him on issues surrounding the protection of life, such as abortion and embryonic stem cell research. If we repeatedly and clearly state that we do not support the President on these issues, we cannot be understood to "suggest support".

Finally, the document states that "we need to do more to persuade all people that human life is precious and human dignity must be defended. This requires more effective dialogue and engagement with all public officials...." However misguided some might consider our actions, it is in the spirit of providing a basis for dialogue that we invited President Obama.

On May 17 we will welcome the ninth President who will receive an honorary degree from Notre Dame. It will be an important opportunity to bring the leader of our nation to Notre Dame, and, I hope, a joyful day for our graduates and their families.

Fr. John Jenkins, C.S.C.

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