A Friend Stopped By | 05/12/2009 11:00 pm
Obama's Notre Dame Commencement Speech: What Would Father Hesburgh Do?
Amid graduation, abortion and Satan controversy, Margo Howard misses the Notre Dame days of former President Theodore Hesburgh.
Editor’s Note: A longtime journalist, Margo Howard went into the family business (her mother was the fabled Ann Landers) in the 1990s as Dear Prudence. Her broad experience and understanding of human nature provide answers for the troubled — and entertainment for everyone else. Margo’s advice column, Dear Margo, appears twice a week — on Thursdays and Fridays — on wowOwow.com.
I suspect by now everyone knows there’s a big whoop about Notre Dame having invited President Obama to be their commencement speaker. The anti-abortion people feel that because Obama is pro-choice, he should not be honored by a Catholic University. I must say that when this mess got started I wanted to holler, "But he’s the president! What kind of crazy litmus tests do you people want to saddle yourselves with? Must every speaker share all your religious views?" And when I thought that Notre Dame’s eye could get no blacker, I read in The New York Times that a Bishop Robert W. Finn, bishop of the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese in Missouri, told an anti-abortion convention, “We are at war! We are engaged in a constant warfare with Satan.”
I mean no disrespect to those who take the Bible literally, but Satan?
By now – the 21st century – Satan, to me, is like a character in a play or a puppet show; a metaphor for bad and evil things. It is hard to imagine a senior prelate of a major religion actually saying with a straight face that “we are engaged in a constant warfare with Satan,” as though he were a person running an organization, if you will, that stands for everything the Catholics don’t.
I think many people know by now that I identify as Jewish, though my actual beliefs fall somewhere between humanism, agnosticism and atheism. I accept as true that there is evil in life, but it is hard for me to believe that educated people see him dressed in a red suit and toting a pitchfork. I am pretty sure I will make zero friends with this little essay, but that will be nothing new for me. I remember when I wrote for slate.com as “Dear Prudence” that I had a letter asking me a religious question. When I answered that more wars were fought and lives lost over the question of who had the better imaginary friend, the server crashed.
In any case, I think what troubles me most is that I have very fond feelings for Notre Dame – or had – because the Notre Dame I knew was headed by Father Theodore Hesburgh, one of the great men of all time.
I can’t prove it, but I doubt that he ever invoked Satan to show his displeasure about a commencement speaker. “Our Lady,” indeed, needs to show a little more grace and tolerance.
Read more about: A Friend Stopped By, Abortion, Barack Obama, Margo Howard, News, Notre Dame, Pro-Choice, Pro-Life, Religion, Robert W. Finn, Theodore Hesburgh
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Well Debbie, I know what a lot of people don’t get…
They don’t get that taxpayers money should not be used to murder children because some woman decides to have unprotected sex. That IS pushing someone elses beliefs on others. That one is easy…
They don’t get that a 9 month abortion is beyond wrong. They don’t get that this is no longer "a clump" of cells. Ever see what a 9 month old fetus looks like? That one is also easy….
They don’t get that 12% of the population is African American and that 35% of the million or so abortions are by African Americans. This is a continuation of the eugenics advocation of aborting the "unfit" by the KKK and others. It is an anti-humanist stance against minorities. This way….they can still get the votes, but not have to pay for the child care and more welfare entitilements. That one is easy as well….
The majority of abortion clinics are situated in minority neighborhoods, Hispanic and African American.
So why is it that women have bought the BS that it is about "choice" or "womens rights"? It isn’t…GET THAT?
It is about supporting murder, killing off certain percentages of the population and insuring that men have an easy out for unprotected sex.
Women are being lied to and missing that the true power is not because they can aquiese to unprotected sex…but to insist on protection. Get that?
It is turning women into murderers of their own children, agreeable sex partners for men, all under the guise of "rights". What a bunch of BS that is….
Be a real woman insist on a condom. End of abortion.
I still find it hard to beleive that people still want to use the same arguments today that have been used for years……Please, if you think that the only people that have abortions are those that have unprotected sex, then I would love to see you face down a rapist and see please use a condom…..or those young girls who are told its ok hunny I am your daddy, but please daddy put a condom on. Where are you standing when it comes to capital punishment, the right side of the political specturm loves to beat their chests to kill those on death row, somehow God allows that kind of death, but when a woman can’t for whatever reason have this child she is a murderer. That is why it is called choice, not one that I would ever make for myself, but by God it is my body, my mind and my choice to make. Until then you and every court, every man and every woman needs to stay out of the business of telling any woman what it best for her.
20 May -RE: Obama & Notre Dame - Hate to tell you Lizzie, but, "This mixing of religion with politics is going just too far…one has nothing to do with the other." is a bit naive. As a devout, fully practicing & active Roman Catholic, I have read "officially accepted" histories of my beloved Church. Church is political & Politics is church, always has been always will be! History, as said before, has involved the interaction of "church & politics, and visa versa. State & church have been enmeshed since we homo sapiens settled down. Up to just a few centuries ago, a King could veto a Pope chosen by the priests & bishops, & the Pope could call upon the King to do his bidding as well.
That said, I agree with you, & "Prudence" - any college that grants the standing president an honorary degree, bully for them both. And those graduates are graced with such a visit. As to the protesters, they have that right. However, those denouncing Notre Dame for bringing in Obama, probably voted against him, purely based on the single (1) issue of abortion They have not been listening to the US Bishops’ firm notices, that "to base your vote on one single (1) issue" is morally wrong! Nor have they listened to our Popes & Bishops since the late 1800s (esp Pope Leo XIII’s call for "equity & justice" for all). He denounced both Communism & Capitalism, for the lack of dignity given to the vast numbers of working people. Thankfully our bishops recognize the real & major issues of our society are the same today as in Leo’s time, the dignity of mankind In their homes, work place, & the justice system. Real "right to life" MUST include these & an end to the death penalty. To say, "no abortions", but it’s OK to ignore the right to dignity after the pregnancy - is NOT OK, according to Catholic Teaching!
Margo, Weeks ago I was thinking of Father Hesburg and what he would do. Loved his "God, Country and Notre Dame." My son went all through Jesuit schools…through grad school in Paris. And once approx 20 years ago my husband and I were in the airport in WDC waiting for a boarding announcement and I spotted Father Hesburg sitting by himself and went over and said how much I loved his book and admired him. He was a reasonable, pragmatic man. His Notre Dame tenure was prior to the GOP being run by right wing religious zealots [the ones that Barry Goldwater warned that if they got in control they’d destroy the party].
Father Hesburg worked for and with presidents of both parties and was able to separate his beliefs, and the doctrines of the Catholic Church, from other secular/national duties. Like hosting a sitting U.S. president on campus, etc.
Boston College [also a Catholic college] was in an uproar when Dick Cheney was slated to speak. Many were against what they viewed as a mass murdering psycho/war criminal at a Catholic college when the Pope and the heads of EVERY major religion had opposed Bush Inc’s phony and inhuman Halliburton war that was so devastating for tens of millions of innocent people.
Where were the pro-life GOP religious nut-jobs when Bush Inc was using depleted uranium, a WMD, against civillians including on urban areas of 5M 50% of them children under 15?
Why are Republicans such hypocrites? If they wish to protest Obama…that is their right…but they would have needed to protest Cheney speaking too….and we all know that didn’t happen.
1.2 million abortions happened in 2005. At the same time Bush Inc caused over 1M deaths, unknown number of injuries, depleted uranium use [a war crime] will lead to hundreds of thousands more deaths over time as it has a shelf life of 4.5 billion years and horrific birth defects will result. [Youtube depleted uranium babies Iraq]. Bush Inc also caused over 2M+ refugees etc, destroyed homes, businesses, educations, infrastructure….another war crimes.
Where were the right to lifers then? They was to save fetuses in the womb [but also don’t provide health care, services, and educations for these babies once born]….but once they are out they’re both fair game and on their own.
Fair disclosure: I was one of 900 that kept Bush off Stanford Campus. Lived on campus, was walking across and ran into the protest in the quad in front of Hoover Tower where GWB was slated to speak. There were tons of police, fire trucks, Secret Service vans, helicopters, catering vans etc. The crowd refused to move out of the way to bring GWB’s limo on and he and his audience had to move to George Schultze’s nearby house. People didn’t want the war criminal on campus and he wasn’t allowed to speak. The same may happen to Mr. Obama, who knows. Whether I agree with them or not, they have a right to peaceful protests/assembly.
Suzanne - Catholic Services are the largest providers of healthcare, feeding and sheltering the poor and the homeless. They provide homes and services for children, for expectant mothers and for those that already have kids. They do not abandon them. They will take care of you, no matter what your state in life or your religious belief - from conception to natural death.
According to the NATO website, which was the only reputable website I found that contained information regarding depleted Uranium: "An apocalypse caused by man as a result of the use of DU ammunition in Iraq and the Balkans is not worthy of discussion!" There is a lot of speculation, but no hard facts.
As for separating your beliefs, and the doctrines of the Catholic Church, from other secular/national duties, one should not have to. Catholicism is our life - it is not something that can be set aside because it is inconvenient. One does not have to bring up religion for every decision made but it should be our guiding light always. There are those that misuse or abuse their positions, but that happens in every walk of life. Look to some of your favorite politicians and tell me they are squeaky-clean.
As for all that has happened (or not happened) in the past, many Catholics have been asleep at the wheel for quite some time. But now they are awake again. Look out, more to come…
i agree, anne.
i feel more evil from the catholic church, and morally conservative religions than from other more accepting groups. unfortunately, that’s how i and many young people feel as well - there are polls stating young people are leaving the church in droves, faster than ever before.
they know to get out while the gettin’ is good, i guess.
What in the world are you talking about.."these days"? If you would like to get alarmed about war and religion…all you have to do is focus on the terrorists and their religious agenda. How about looking for the real enemy?
Gays have tolerance, to say that they don’t is not a truthful representation of what is going on. Marriage is a traditonal institution between a male and a female. Not same sex, not mutiple partners….A male and A female. There are civil unions and civil partnerships for all else.
Abortion is the legalized murder of children and a demoralization of women. If women want power, then they can tell their sexual partners to wear protection….like a big girl should. Instead, abortion enables men to practice protection free sex and effectively manages populations that are deemed "unfit" to reproduce.
True intellectual honest would support women to insist on protection and thus protect themselves and their unborn from death and shame. It is now legal in Sweden to abort on the basis of gender. Abortion enslaves women far more than it gives them choices.
Women had a choice….tell that man to put on a condom. End of problem.
Too bad that some are not "drawn" to churches…there are churches that could be helpful in explaining how Christ’s teachings are relevant.
Stop trying to absolve yourself by trying to confusing the issue by bringing in the religious fundamentalism of the terrorists. This is a typical strategy among talking-point debaters who have no real PERSONAL stake in the argument.
I’m talking exclusively about the problem that US-based religious community is waging war on US citizens based upon differences in their sexual orientation. Converting the argument to pure black-and-white thinking is what is intellectually dishonest. You have to deny that God made gays that way in order to create such a simplistic enmity, and frankly, that’s denying one of the central tenets of religion: that we were all made in God’s image.
My personal stake in the argument is that I have many friends and several family members who are gay, and I love them very much. There is nothing "perverse" about them. I don’t personally know anyone in the gay community in California (in over 1,000 acquaintances) who is also a child molester, animal molester, or polyamorous. I’m sick of the religious community trying to distract and confuse people by linking crimes of victimization (child molesting and bestiality) with the completely unrelated, mutually consenting adult relationships that LGBT people are pursuing. That is beyond intellectual dishonesty, and I believe it veers closer to intellectual terrorism. You’re inciting the fears of the ignorant using lies and deception, and that’s despicable. However, I am willing to forgive you because I believe that you do not have any personal relationships at stake, and that you are an ignorant victim yourself. I request that at this point you stop using this invalid point of argument since you are on notice that it is abusive and inaccurate.
And speaking of intellectual dishonesty: trying to sidetrack the argument on abortion by making an impossible solution is also ridiculous. This distraction is a typical talking-point debate, because you clearly have not faced the question yourself or personally counseled a frightened pregnant girl in what to do about an unwanted/unanticipated pregnancy. If you had, you would know very well that the "Shoulda-woulda-coulda used a condom" finger waggling approach is completely moot.
No matter what happened in the bedroom, no matter what method of birth control was chosen or not chosen, the pregnancy happened. Period. Now the ONLY argument is: what to do about it? Who gets to choose? Prior to 1972, the woman had no choice, she had to bear the baby of any man who impregnanted her. In 1972, the Supreme Court made a decision that until the fetus is 12 weeks old, it is not yet considered its own separate person, and therefore, the mother has a right to determine any medical care without the approval of any other person.
Now, the important point here is that women have a choice: they can terminate the pregnancy, or bring the baby to term. You don’t like the law? CHANGE it. Don’t just bully everyone by calling them baby-killers. That’s simplistic and counterproductive. Have the courage to step up and win the hearts and minds of Americans to a better way.
My personal stake in this? I had a pregnancy scare at 22, and everyone around me counseled me to terminate the pregnancy because I was a high-flying college student who had not yet graduated. I heard all the arguments: my professional life would be ruined or forever sidetracked, my earnings would forever be muted, the guy turned out to be married and so he would not be there to help me, etc. Against all logic, I decided well within the 12-week "deadline" (literally!) that I would bring the baby into the world, and furthermore, that I would be willing to make the sacrifices of living in complete poverty, possibly forever, in order to raise the baby myself. I knew I would be a great mother and was smart and could find a way. But I was terrified. I made my choice, and I’m happy that it was up to me, and that I wasn’t going to be forced to raise a child I didn’t want. In my case, I wanted the child, and I knew I had a loving family that would help me out and not leave me alone in the street. So, two BIG things in my favor.
I don’t think it’s fair that I should impose the same decision on a girl who has no friends or family, no education, no man around to help support the baby, no money, no medical care. If I were in that girl’s situation, I would want to have the right to choose. Knowing me, I would likely make the same choice, but I might choose to have the baby adopted. Who knows? Only the girl and God.
The biggest hypocrisy in the religious community right now is this attitude of blame and punishment. You want these women to have the babies? Then by golly, make that choice a REAL, VIABLE choice. Help them have a safe place to live, good nutrition and prenatal care, safe delivery and medical care, and assistance with placing unwanted babies in adoptive homes.
Stop making these women feel bad/guilty for choosing public assistance instead of choosing abortion. You can’t have it both ways: you can’t bully girls into having pregnancies and then beat them down for being welfare moms. You can’t block good, loving, stable families from qualifying to be adoptive homes and then whine about the shortage of good homes. You are so focused on being at war on single moms, at war on absent dads, at war on welfare, at war on abortion. When are you going realize that Christ’s teachings are about love, and taking care of one another, not judging and punishing everyone?
People leave churches when all they find there are hatred, judgment, punishment, and exclusion. No one will listen to you while you are ranting with a red face, veins bulging, spewing hatred and divisiveness. Instinctively, they know that they are not seeing Christ’s teachings in your houses of "worship." They are seeing a modern, political perversion that feels ugly to be around.
*applause for anne!*
i agree with everything you said here - especially the parts about the arguments used here by some conservatives are intellectually dishonest and terroristic. they are. and they dont’ care who they hurt to spread their fear and hate of pregnant women, the poor, and gays.
anne, i completely agree with you - it’s hard to speak to someone you’ve been taught you should hate. everyone keeps their enemies at arms-length; it is much easier to dehumanize them and speak out against them if you don’t have anything personal invested in them.
that’s why it is easy for people like kelly to say "pregnant women are lazy and deserve the pregnancy - they should have demanded they put a condom on". it makes her feel above these women by claiming all pregnant women did not use protection and deserve to be put through pregnancy and birth.
same with the homeless… how many times i have heard someone say "that bum should just get a job!". how sick - it’s easy to distance yourself from them and their real problems by dismissing their plight with "oh they are just lazy / stupid / insert insult here".
or even gays… "they choose to be that way, so there is no reason they should have equal rights".
it’s just a way to dehumanize them, so others can break them down. it is really sad to see it happening.
You talking to me?
No church that I belong to has a red faced, hatred spewing anyone. Try reading something by Max Lucado, you are missing something important. "They" that you talk about here are lost and because they do not want to have to face responsibility, "they" reject that which will not absolve them from all responsibiltiy. Childlike and selfish.
Women can step up and really be powerful….tell the MEN to wear protection. End of problems, no abortions, single mothers yadda yadda yadda. The FACT remains that women allow sex without protection…that’s how babies are made and that’s why babies are murdered.
If women don’t want babies then maybe they should not have sex with unprotected partners. All the other BS is justification after the fact. Win the hearts and minds??? Are you kidding me…they just want an out to their lack of good decisions. How about they USE A CONDOM.
Ah…God did not create the gay sexual identity, man did that. People are not born gay, but so what? They can have sex anyway with anyone that they want to. They HAVE rights, they can have civil partnerships and civil unions. Not traditional marriage. You might want to drop Obama a line and tell him how bigoted he is…and hateful.
I know and have plenty of gays friends, and guess what? Some of them do NOT support gay marriage, so save all of your name calling….and like with heterosexuals, there are plenty of child molesters etc, in the gay commuity, to say that there isn’t is a blatant lie. Don’t even go there.
Americans have it GREAT. We have a wonderful Nation where so many are blessed and fortunate. The REAL ememies are the terrorist that plan on killing us all. I am not confused on what is the serious problems in our world today.
You had better step out of this Utopia that you live in and become aware of what the dangers are OUT there. It is not other Americans, it is the religious extremists Muslims and Islam that is the real enemy.