Joe Sluis

Obama has declared open war on Christians of all denominations - not just Catholics. The Bible teaches that life is sacred. Obama has attacked and insulted 82% of all Americans by his new policies of using tax dollars to pay for embryonic research, by changing government ploicies so that the US will pay for abortions overseas, etc.

Monday, April 06, 2009 at 09:34 AM  

Disturbed American

I expect that Obama will speak at Notre Dame's commencement. He will have the audacity to tell Catholics that abortion is a good thing - and the people will accept it. Just like we are in a economic crisis and he raises taxes - and the people accept it. Just like Korea puts a "test rocket" in space, Obama says we are going to elimiate nuclear bombs - and the people accept it.
WHEN ARE WE GOING TO WAKE UP AND GET RID OF THIS BASS ACKWARDS EXCUSE FOR A PRESIDENT??????????? Who clearly does not have our best interests in mind??????

Monday, April 06, 2009 at 09:33 AM  

Anonymous

Who thinks own traitor President is helping fullfill Bible Prophesy with his New World Order. The War on Christianity is coming! Hold on things are moving too fast now for us to stop anything he does.

Monday, April 06, 2009 at 09:26 AM  

Anonymous

Bush allowed 155 executions during his time as TX governor. Were these lives worth saving? I believe the Catholic Church is against capital punishment yet Bush went to Notre Dame to deliver the commencement address in 2001 (when he should have bben making us safe--but that's another story). Hypocricy!

Monday, April 06, 2009 at 09:24 AM  

Dave

ND invited him. End of story

Monday, April 06, 2009 at 09:20 AM  

Betsy Ross 2009

Why not get a hot line 1800 bash a catholic? If the Catholics stand for something they believe they are so bad,because he is so right. WRONG< this guy has no respect for life. Catholics believe killing babies is wrong , just plain wrong.Obama will use this as, a see hey know they are wrong they are listening to me. I can convert these people.Why not get a Catholic pro life speaker, just because the majority elected this guy doesn't mean the Catholic University has to do the same thing. Long live our innocent children , save the babies and don't waste the pro life graduates time listening to somebody they stand against.For the Catholic faith, for the graduates, and most important for the babies.

Monday, April 06, 2009 at 09:09 AM  

Bob

If you go back to the start of the chosen one's campaign. He is not a Christian, but a Muslim. Muslims do not consider themselves as being black. Thus the chosen one is not black and not a Christian and he is fulfilling the mission of a Muslim by defeating the infidels by destroying the Nation of infidels. May Ala praise the chosen one. RIGHT!

Monday, April 06, 2009 at 08:50 AM  

Texan

This is the epitome of the hypocrisy of the organized Christian faith, ESPECIALLY Roman Catholicism which was more interested in covering up the pandemic of pedophile priests than the welfare of its young innocent victims. Reading all the fake disgust on 99.99% of the comments on here genuinely nauseates me. Let he who is without sin...

Friday, April 03, 2009 at 03:13 PM  

Fitz

I am an Irish Catholic that expects N.D. to live up to its Catholic teaching and to fully support the unborn child.

Friday, April 03, 2009 at 02:16 PM  

Caroline

I just want to say that I don't usually add comments to blogs, but read them frequently and am horrified about how mean, nasty and disrespectful people can be. I'm encouraged to see that, so far, this blog is largely composed of intelligent, thoughtful and sincere bloggers who, it seems, are at least willing to consider another person's viewpoint. Hope it stays that way.

Friday, April 03, 2009 at 02:15 PM  

Bill Nichter

I just can't understand why this selection would upset anyone. You sat
on the sidelines during the election for both the president and congress
and now you want to complain. Shame on you. This is America folks. In a few years we won't even recognize the country let alone Notre Dame. .

Friday, April 03, 2009 at 01:37 PM  

Anonymous

It seems Catholics are declaring war on themselves.

Friday, April 03, 2009 at 12:47 PM  

Veteran

I'm a Catholic and I believe unfortunately that Notre Dame is becoming more secular and less Catholic (religious) reflecting the rapid trend sweeping our nation. The college had the opportunity to remain an institution with Catholic values and to resist the pressure to be just another educational institution of Leftist/Liberal trappings. Thus the invitation of President Obama is consistent with the current direction of the university,
The people who should be embarassed/ashamed are the so called Catholic voters who helped elect President Obama. Throughout the campaign, he consistently said that he would eliminate the restrictions on abortion and he is working toward that goal. He is also trying to force Catholic Hospitals to perform abortions by eliminating the Freedom of conscience protection for health workers. None of the Catholics who voted for him should be surprised by his actions.
I'm of the opinion, that many of the Catholics that voted for President Obama are Lapsed (Catholic in name only) Catholics. Why these folks don't pick another religion or declare themselves agnostics is a mystery to me. There are plenty of available religions/churches that would better align with their belief systems.

Friday, April 03, 2009 at 12:39 PM  

Anonymous

'Why Obama Is Losing a Faith"
Don't want to start a discussion, just a comment
Only one thing missing in this article. You are assuming Obama gives a hoot about the catholic vote. He doesn't care about anything but his far left agenda and making sure he gets it in place before the end of his first term. If he does that he doesn't care if he is reelected or not. I am a catholic and actual practice my religion. I would guess that not even 50% of the Catholics I know even give a second thought to abortion when they vote for a president. It is really sad to see. The Catholics I am talking about are practicing Catholics from a very conservative area. Sadder yet. Obama's appearance at ND is just another way for him to break done those Catholics who are weak on their abortion stance. It is just another reason for them to use to justify abortion in their own conscience. Hey, if ND approves of given such a radical pro abortion president the pulpit at the most wall known catholic university in the world they must tolerate his view. Right. A person who believes that life begins at conception can never tolerate a position that abortion is anything other that murder. Gees, Obama even believes partial birth abortion is ok. Just look at his voting record. He never saw an unborn baby whom he didn't think it was ok to kill.

Friday, April 03, 2009 at 12:31 PM  

R. Maresco

I am not the most orthodox Catholic, but Catholic was the religion of all my ancestors for hundreds of years, and I was raised Catholic. It's my heritage and I only wish I had been a good enough person to have lived up to all its standards of behavior all my life. I'm not sure abortion should be absolutely illegal, but I understand clearly that abortion is the taking of a human life. Anybody who doesn't acknowledge that is misguided and/or just plain kidding themselves. The very people that acuse others (who are leary of ethical ramifications of embrionic stem cell research) of living in the dark ages and being anti-science, are the same folks that refuse to acknowledge that a complete human being is formed at conception and is merely in it's earliest stage of development....which is an absolute scientific fact, albeit a most inconvenient truth for those that insist that women's rights include the right to kill their unwanted children. Were you any less of a complete human being at 20 than at 40? At 10 than at 20? Of course not. You were just an an earlier stage of growth and development. Were you any less of a human being at 5 than at 10? At 3 than at 5? At 6 months gestation than at birth? AT CONCEPTION THAN AT 6 MONTHS GESTATION??? NO! Everything, every shred of DNA that was to become you was present at conception and everybody who is honest and intelligent and educated knows that. Abortion is the termination of the life of an innocent, fragile, helpless human being.
The man that more than half of my fellow Americans voted for listened to the heartbreaking testimony of a nurse who held a human being who was the victim of a botched abortion in her arms until it died, pleading that a bill be passed allowing emergency medical attention be given to babies born alive during the abortions that are supposed to kill them. He listened and voted no, saying the intent of the mother was to abort the baby and he had to respect that. He feels I guess that if the mother's intent that the human life inside her be treated like medical waste, that's fine with him. The Catholic church is very consistent in their belief that all human life is the most sacred state of existance on earth. They do not support capitol punishment, euthanasia or abortion. I am not personally as consistent. I can't help but want violent people who behave like sick animals to be put to death so that they can not continue to harm others and so that they are not a financial burden on society while in prison for life. Others believe that the last thing violent criminals should experience is violence from society. I respect their right to have the views they have, just as I expect my views to be respected. I have respect for people who's beliefs and views differ from my own. I do not disrespect the President's views, but he is an actual policy maker who has the power to vote against the very core of Catholic beliefs, and has done so. For that reason, he will never be an appropriate speaker at any Catholic institution. Catholics may have voted him for a vareity of reasons, but the honest ones know deep down they should not be supporting him.

Friday, April 03, 2009 at 12:15 PM  

Ralph Herro

Just recently I was sending red envelopes to the white house. I think a more approproate place would be your parish rectory, with the same message.
" This envelope is empty to represent children that were terminated before they had a chance to make to become a person", maybe a priest or a president.

Friday, April 03, 2009 at 11:44 AM  

Fred-TX

I was raised in the Catholic church. I now attend a non-denominational church and my top two priorities remain unchanged . First of all, I believe in God.
Secondly, I believe that life begins at the moment of conception. I do not understand how anyone( Catholic or otherwise) could vote for a candidate who voted for late term abortion 3 times.

Friday, April 03, 2009 at 11:40 AM  

Anonymous

Mike, Obama has had more than ample opportunity to listen to the people and hear what they say. He doesn't care what anybody thinks. He has his agenda to change this country to one that is soooo not what we were founded on. He is not living by OUR constitution. Remember it is, WE THE PEOPLE, not I THE GOVERNMENT. I pray God will bless America and help us all or we will no longer exist.
Friday, April 03, 2009 at 10:52 AM

Friday, April 03, 2009 at 11:40 AM  

longforamerica

Do the right thing for once mr obama, do not go to Notre Dame.

Friday, April 03, 2009 at 11:39 AM  

SuzieQ

The last thing liberal Democrats want is that pesky religion getting in the way of their programs. It's not just Catholics they target, but all religions with the exception of Islam, which of course, is not on the hit list. Can Sharia law be far behind?

Friday, April 03, 2009 at 11:36 AM  

MARYGAIL Ferris

Of course Notre Dame should NOT have Obama for the graduation and it should NOT give him an award. If the alumni withheld financial support this might change but then again alumni by definition are graduates of this institution that calls itself Catholic. The Bishops have allowed Notre Dame to continue on its path of anti Catholic thinking since Vatican 2 so why is anyone surprised at this attitude toward Obama. It would seem that very simply Notre Dame is NOT teaching the Catholicism of truth but only intellectual relativeness. Whatever happened to absolutes of good and evil?
Is abortion, the killing of the unborn , so unimportant as to be overlooked as a fundamental belief of the Catholic faith? What is Notre Dame teaching.? Go to Notre Dame to loose your faith.

Friday, April 03, 2009 at 11:34 AM  

Anonymous

As a young Catholic (27 years old), I find the choice of Obama as the speaker to be not only wrong, but damnable. While some may feel the choice is alright on the basis of the office held, that thinking is not complete and therefore the argument is fallacy. The Catholic church has some very basic straight-forward tenants that all Catholics are supposed to live by. While we are all sinners, we still are capable to bettering ourselves through hard work and the assistance of God. We do not believe in the same thing that Obama does, and therefore, should not have him speak to a group of students on graduation day. He believes in the extreme the opposite of the Catholic faith on issues such as gay marriage, abortion, sexual teachings, and religion and prayer iin school.
Some will finds my words to be harsh, but they are the truth and how I personally feel. I do not like to be set aside or marginalized simply because of my faith and religious beliefs. I also dislike the generalization that is made that all Catholics that are under the age of 30 are radically different in mindset than that of the more senior members of the parish and Catholic body. While it is true that many of the youth have been made to believe that Catholic and even Christian teachings are uncool or unrealistic, truthfully, not every Catholic has been made to feel that way. Some of us have strong core values and are happy to correct that misconception.
It is my hope that the Catholic church does come forward and do something in ragards to this Notre Dame situation. If that means the Pope must get involved, so be it. We are a people of faith and a people of beliefs, and while a time and place for discussion should be made available, that time is not during a graduation.

Friday, April 03, 2009 at 11:29 AM  

insouthbend

Just think of all those parents who've likely spent $160,000 on their kids Catholic education only to be rewarded at the end of the four years with an pro-abortion speaker. Wow

Friday, April 03, 2009 at 11:28 AM  

Grant

If the US Catholic bishops don't start acting more like Jesus when he chased the money changers out of the temple then they should start planning to sell church properties because catholics will leave.
This attitude of "do nothing" is similar to the approach the US Catholic bishops took when they knew that some of their priests were sexual deviants. The priests' sex scandal of 2002-03 resulted from bishops not doing their job. This is the same type of incident.
As Catholics we should not be upset with Obama for acting like a polotician- accepting the invitation to a Catholic institution- but the US Catholics bishops for not having the courage to stand up for the fundamental belief that life is sacred.

Friday, April 03, 2009 at 11:23 AM  

Jakota

I'm all for Obama being allowed to speak at ND, sort of. I can only pray that he gets the Ann Coulter treatment and gets bood and hissed off stage. I would give anything to see this imp totally embarrassed.

Friday, April 03, 2009 at 11:22 AM  

FormerCatholic

Being a Christian, and a FORMER Catholic, anyone who professes themselves to be a Christian should be upset about O's stance on abortion. This is a fundamental cornerstone of Christianity, nothing more.
And how do you 'un-invite' someone, including a President? Well, it is very very simple. Pick up the phone, and say 'Sorry, but I've changed my mind. You are no longer invited.' Didn't he do that to his buddy, the Rev. Wright? At least THE O is smart enough to know how to do at least that...

Friday, April 03, 2009 at 11:21 AM  

Logicprevails

What does it mean to be a Catholic? THAT is the real story here. According to our teaching, our Holy Father ,the Pope, is our leader and we must follow his teachings and rules. One cannot be a Catholic and dismiss some of what the Pope says to fit the religion into one's life. There cannot be any such thing as a pro-choice Catholic. Our Holy Father and our other church leaders need to be very clear on what it means to be a Catholic and how we are supposed to live our lives. If we cannot be true to the faith, we cannot be Catholics. There can be no gray area. If one wants gray area, he/she can become a Protestant.
Notre Dame failed in it's mission to live true to its Catholic foundation by inviting a pro-baby-killing President to speak.

Friday, April 03, 2009 at 11:21 AM