There is no turning back from what has become a watershed moment in Catholic higher education, says Patrick Reilly, the president of the Cardinal Newman Society, (CNS) about the recent Notre Dame scandal, which triggered an unprecedented groundswell of protest from the American Catholic community.
Since the invitation was announced in March, a steady stream of over 80 U.S. bishops and 367,000 petitioners have condemned the University of Notre Dame for hosting President Obama as the commencement speaker and for awarding him an honorary law degree on Sunday.
On commencement day at the university, thousands of pro-life protesters crammed into the South Quad for an alternate graduation ceremony, and lined two miles of road leading to Notre Dame. At least 39 protesters were arrested for trespassing on campus, while a handful of pro-lifers were led away after protesting at the commencement itself.
"It was American Catholics drawing a line in the sand, after decades of harmful dissent and declining Catholic identity at leading Catholic colleges and universities," CNS president Patrick Reilly told Zenit news service in an interview published Wednesday.
"The extraordinary witness of the bishops and lay Catholics has brought much needed attention to the lack of Catholic identity at many U.S. Catholic colleges and universities," said Reilly. "I predict that the Notre Dame scandal will someday be looked upon as a watershed moment in the project begun by Pope John Paul II with ‘Ex Corde Ecclesiae’ and continued by Benedict XVI with his vision for Catholic education, presented at The Catholic University of America in April 2008."
Reilly said there are already signs that the controversy is continuing to grow after Obama’s appearance at Notre Dame. According to Reilly, some Catholic university leaders have already announced plans to lobby U.S. bishops to weaken their official stance on honoring pro-abortion politicians.
"Catholics cannot retreat after making such a strong statement about Notre Dame," said Reilly. "Every time a Catholic college or university acts contrary to its Catholic identity, Catholics should express the same concern."
"Public witness to scandal has a long-term impact," he asserted.
It was in part thanks to the Cardinal Newman Society’s repeated protests against scandalous commencement honors, said Reilly, that led to the U.S. bishops’ 2004 ban on honors and platforms for those publicly opposed to Catholic moral teaching.
"The Cardinal Newman Society has worked for 16 years to build support for authentic Catholic education by remaining faithful to the bishops and the Magisterium, and we hope that the Notre Dame scandal will convince thousands more Catholics to join the movement in the Church for renewal," he said.
Reilly concluded: "Fully Catholic without compromise. That’s the approach to Catholic higher education that Pope Benedict proposes, and exactly what Notre Dame failed to exhibit in its honor to President Obama."
(To read the full Zenit interview: http://www.zenit.org/article-25949?l=english )
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Jesuit U. of San Francisco to Honor Dissident Bishop Famed for Pushing Condoms
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09050408.html
New Orleans Archbishop to Boycott Xavier U. Commencement Honoring Pro-Abort Catholic
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042401.html
Georgetown Law School to Honor Pro-Abortion Catholic Biden Wednesday
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09042106.html
Pro-Abortion Journalist Chris Matthews to Offer Commencement Address at Catholic St. Joseph’s University
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09040309.html
List of Catholic Colleges Honoring Pro-Life Commencement Speakers
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09051301.html
