Let's be mindful that a culture of life is what undergirds a politics of life. On that score, more and more people do not favor abortion on demand. While most in the U.S. would not support the Catholic position on abortion, most do favor putting rather stricter limits on abortion. Nonetheless, it is clear that the election of Barack Obama has set the pro-life cause back a good distance. I am not advocating abandoning the political arena. I am asserting that we should keep it in its proper place and not allow politics to poison our
communio. This is what I was arguing
the other night.
I should also state the reason for my ambivalence about the president giving the ND commencement address. It arises from the fact that the invitation has been issued and accepted. The basis for my agreement with Abp Quinn's position, which, if I read him correctly, is the basis for his own view, prescinds from the these facts (i.e., invitation extended and accepted). As with the Iraq war, the question as to whether it was a good idea to invite him in the first place is an entirely different matter. I suppose the question I would ask Notre Dame president, Fr. Jenkins, is, Did you involve Bp. D'Arcy in the discussion about whether to invite the president? If not, did you relay the decision to extend the invitation to the bishop before extending it in order to get his feedback/approval?
I also like that Ken Woodward points out Pres. Obama will have the opportunity to listen to one of the most eloquent defenders of life in the English-speaking world, Amb. Mary Ann Glendon. The effect of her words is something for which we can all invoke the intercession of St. Gianna Molla. As
The Christophers remind us: "It's better to light one candle than to curse the darkness."
I cannot but draw attention to Sharon's post on
Cahiers,
Culture and Identity in the Current Crisis.
