It hasn’t been what I’d call a “long-standing tradition”. But it has in fact become a tradition. Notre Dame, that Catholic school in South Bend, Indiana, has been inviting the President of the United States to speak at their commencement during his first year in office. They did so with George W. Bush in 2001. They did so with Bobo Obama back in 2009, and they did it with Joe Biden this year.
Except they’ve had a change of heart.
See, most students that attend Notre Dame are Catholic, which makes sense. And in the Catholic church, abortion is not allowed. It’s a sin. And while the students raised a ruckus with Obama speaking back in 2009, he did actually speak. What’s interesting is that the nation’s first Catholic president, John F. Kennedy was never invited to speak at Notre Dame’s commencement. Neither was Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, or Richard Nixon. Instead, this year, the graduating students heard from someone almost as famous as Biden…they heard from finance executive and trustee at the University, Jimmy Dunne.
Here’s what the students had to say in their letter to the administration, citing that Biden should not give a speech, nor pick up the traditional “honorary degree” for speaking stating the signers of the petition were, “dismayed by the pro-abortion and anti-religious liberty agenda of President Joe Biden.”
They went on to say, “He rejects Church teachings on abortion, marriage, sex and gender and is hostile to religious liberty. He embraces the most pro-abortion and anti-religious liberty public policy program in history. The case against honoring him is immeasurably stronger than it was against honoring President Obama.”
Now, I have to say, being a consistency guy, that I applaud the students for their decision. Yes, I’m certainly pro-life, but what I’m applauding is their consistency to stay true to their church’s tenets. They could very easily have thought it an “honor” to have the POTUS speak at their graduation, but they decided against it. They felt it was much more important to be true to their belief system. Unlike Joe Biden and others like Nancy Pelosi, who hide behind their cloak of convenience, stating that while they personally are against abortion, they feel it’s up to the woman and they don’t want to get in the way. I kinda wonder what St. Peter would have said if faced with a similar decision on starting the Catholic church and being martyred for it, or deciding to say, “Yeah, I’m a Christian, and I believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior. But I don’t want to foist that onto other people, if they don’t want to believe in it.”
Sometimes you just have to put your beliefs ahead of popular culture.
That is one of the over-riding problems that I have with liberalism. Oh, they claim to be religious when it suits them. They tell everyone how they were raised a certain way, and how they were happy they were. Then they turn their back on everything and go with the flow because it’s easier, and they don’t lose the votes. Sometimes the right decision is hard. Sometimes people actually do give up their lives rather than their religion. It’s sad that we have a president and a Speaker of the House that don’t know how to do just that!
But then again, that’s most liberals, isn’t it?
Carry on world…you’re dismissed!
The Lone Cactus 