Remember this MSM cartoon from the Alito confirmation battle?

Think we’ll see a cartoon like this regarding the Sotomayor appointment?

After all, this will make six Catholic justices on the Supreme Court.

(cue crickets chirping)

Here’s the text of my mini op-ed that appeared in today’s AJC:

Notre Dame’s decision to have President Obama deliver its commencement address this year, and to award him with an honorary law degree, is a tragic mistake. As a Catholic university, Notre Dame’s academic mission is inextricably intertwined with its corresponding duty to promote and defend the tenets of the Catholic faith. One of the fundamental teachings of the Catholic Church is that all human life must be respected from the moment of conception until natural death. For this reason, the U.S. bishops have explicitly stated that Catholic institutions must “not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles.” And here, there is no question that Notre Dame has chosen to honor someone with an abysmal record on issues like abortion and embryonic-stem-cell research. In doing so, Notre Dame has tarnished its image, and, more importantly, harmed its ability to promote a culture of life in this country.

Rut-ro. Archbishop Raymond Burke is calling into question whether Notre Dame is truly a Catholic university:

What it should do is have Notre Dame come clean. Is it Catholic or isn’t it? A Catholic institution, a Catholic university, cannot give honors to someone who is a promoter of things that are opposed to the most fundamental beliefs of Catholics, and so that’s what needs to happen . . . .

There’s an apostolic constitution, Ex Corde Ecclesiae, which sets forth the requirements for a university to have the name Catholic. I think that Notre Dame has to either follow those norms or say ‘We’re not a Catholic university anymore.

And apparently, Archbishop Burke isn’t done addressing this topic:

He’ll have more to say about Notre Dame this morning.

I’m in the lobby outside of the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast. One of the organizers just told me that Archbishop Burke’s words to me constituted his first public statement about Notre Dame, “But wait until you hear what he has to say this morning,” he said. “Hold on to your glasses.”

Wow. I can’t wait to hear what else he has today.

(Cross-posted at Southern Appeal)

ND President Jenkins digs in: “We Are Tremendously Proud” to Honor Obama at Notre Dame.

If you haven’t signed the petition at NotreDameScandal.com, then what are you waiting for? 

H/T: patrickmadrid

Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Robert Carlson to Archbishop of Saint Louis. A loss for Saginaw is a great gain for Saint Louis.

When President Obama spoke this past week  at Georgetown University, an allegedly Catholic institution, the White House requested that all Georgetown insignias and symbols be covered, according to CNSNews.com.

Seems the Presidents like the idea of speaking at Catholic universities, so long as there’s no pesky references to Jesus.

The White House is now blaming the flap on the Star Spangled Banner, but CNSNews.com also notes that Laura Bush spoke at Georgetown without covering up the “IHS” monogram.

If you haven’t yet signed the petition to Fr. Jenkins, President of the University of Notre Dame, requesting that he rescind his invitation to President Obama giving this year’s Commencement Address, then visit NotreDameScandal.com.

Janet Smith, a Catholic professor at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, had some thoughts on the decision of Notre Dame to invite President Barack Obama:

I know that if someone like George Wallace had been elected president of the United States, no matter how much good he had done – no matter how many causes “near to Notre Dame’s heart” he had elevated, Notre Dame would not have invited him to be the commencement speaker nor given him an honorary degree. The world would not have believed that Notre Dame remained “firm and unwavering” in its opposition to racism. It would not have thought that Notre Dame was hoping to spark a national dialogue on racism. It would have thought Notre Dame had lost its mind and faith.

It truly is a scandal that Notre Dame has decided to honor President Obama. There is no reason that Catholics should believe that we can look to Notre Dame for leadership on the most controversial issues of the day, issues that involve the yearly killing of millions of the innocent. It is such a shame.

Well said. (HT: American Papist)

If you haven’t signed the petition to Notre Dame yet, please do so.

Many commentators have lamented the sad state of the sexual mores of American campus life. But to their credit, two Princeton professors, Robert George and John Londregan, have not only diagnosed the problem well, they have put forward some constructive ideas.

They note the problem:

“[U]niversity health centers and residential advising programs typically provide assistance on body-image and eating disorders, binge drinking and alcohol abuse, and sexual health and sexual harassment.

“Conspicuously absent, however, are centers or programs offering meaningful support for students who desire to live chastely. ‘Sexual health’ offices do not supply the need because staff members see their roles, not as promoting self-discipline and high moral standards, but as providing ‘non-judgmental’ advice about how to have sex while avoiding pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and infections.”

Their proposal:

“To help to come to terms with these problems, some thoughtful and concerned students at Princeton and other universities have proposed the establishment of centers on campus to support students who seek to lead lives of moral integrity and decency. We are sure that alumni and friends would step forward with financial support to make such ‘Love and Fidelity Centers’ possible.”

It’s an intriguing idea, definitely worth a closer look. Read the rest of the article for more insights.

A new survey on religious affiliations is out and there are three major findings.

Not surprisingly, because of increased immigration (legal and illegal), there is large growth in the Catholic Church in America’s Southwest. Another trend that doesn’t surprise, but is nonetheless, disheartening is the erosion of religion in New England, which was for so long a bastion of religious piety. The final trend is the increasing number of non-religious persons which the surveyors quipped ‘Nones.’ They have been the largest growing segment of the American population.

From the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS):

“America’s religious geography has been transformed since 1990. Religious switching along with Hispanic immigration has significantly changed the religious profile of some states and regions. Between 1990 and 2008, the Catholic population proportion of the New England states fell from 50% to 36% and in New York it fell from 44% to 37%, while it rose in California from 29% to 37% and in Texas from 23% to 32%.” 

…

“The percentage of Americans claiming no religion, which jumped from 8.2 in 1990 to 14.2 in 2001, has now increased to 15 percent. Given the estimated growth of the American adult population since the last census from 207 million to 228 million, that reflects an additional 4.7 million “Nones.” Northern New England has now taken over from the Pacific Northwest as the least religious section of the country, with Vermont, at 34 percent “Nones,” leading all other states by a full 9 points.” 

Hat tip: NCRegister