Honoring President Obama at Notre Dame

With Amy, Rick, and Richard M., I am all for a university - especially a Catholic university - being a place of dialogue and exchange leading to growth in mutual understanding.  John Paul the Great reminded us, with the theme of his pontificate, that we should "be not afraid." Therefore, a Catholic university should be not afraid to dialogue and exchange views on any topic with President Obama or any of his surrogates.  But, as Rick and Richard M. have pointed out,  honoring the President and giving him a commencement platform (not really a great forum for dialogue and exchange) is a very different matter and sends a very different signal.  In short, I agree with Rick and Richard M. that ND should not have invited the President to be the commencement speaker and to receive an honorary degree.

With that said, I want to reiterate something Rick said.  Notre Dame is and remains a wonderful gift to the Church and to the nation.  Two of my children are graduates of ND, and I will literally be paying for their education for the rest of my life (well, at least into my late 70's).  I have not once regretted the financial sacrifice.  In fact, I thank God every day for providing us with the grace to make the leap of faith (and considering the financial commitment, it was a leap of faith) to send them to Notre Dame. 

At the undergraduate level, the ability to take classes from and be mentored by the likes of Alasdair McIntyre, Brad Gregory, Fr. Miscamble, Cyril O'Regan, and others like them is a tremendous and maybe unparalleled opportunity.  The level of intellectual engagement with peers outside of class is great, at least if the student seeks it, as is the faith community formed by these students (and professors).  The Catholic intellectual life outside of class is vibrant  Dorm masses, the dorm system, the dorm rectors all contribute to a distinct Catholic identity.  The service learning opportunities all over the world help students to form their characters according to the lines of thinking developed by Pope Benedict in Deus Caritas Est.  The Center for Ethics and Culture is a real gem and hundreds (if not thousands) of students participate in events and conferences sponsored by the Center.  I could go on and on, but I'd probably start bragging about my kids, so I'll stop now.