President Trump And Notre Dame

Most of us remember how the University of Notre Dame disgraced itself by allowing the Messiah Most Miserable to sully its commencement ceremony AND receive an honorary degree from what once was a Catholic institution.  This happened in 2009.  Many good people protested, both before and during the debacle, from afar and right on the campus itself with some being arrested.  Father Jenkins was warned of the protests beforehand but carried on, claiming that the President of the United States should be a welcome speaker.

My!  How times change in these eight years!  When faced with the prospect of President Trump giving a commencement address at his campus, all of the sudden, Jenkins is having his doubts!  Says the UND president, "I do think the elected leader of the nation should be listened to. And it would be good to have that person on the campus — whoever they are, whatever their views.  At the same time, the 2009 commencement was a bit of a political circus, and I think I’m conscious that that day is for graduates and their parents — and I don’t want to make the focus something else."

Let's examine all this, shall we?  We'll start from the end: "I don't want to make the focus something else".  What a piece of crock!  When Obama came, Jenkins didn't care one whit about that day being "for the graduates and their parents".  It was a victory lap for both Obama and Father Theodore Hesburgh.  The latter was president of UND from 1952 - 1987.  During that time he authored the heretical Land-O-Lakes Statement and helped the infiltration of progressivism into the inner workings of the Church hierarchy.  Because he also gave aid and comfort to Msgr Jack Egan as the latter was developing the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, he fostered the kind of "community organizing" that jump-started Obama's political career.  Yes indeed, Jenkins was celebrating a triumph of progressivism that day, not the graduates.

Now let's look at the "circus".  He thinks that more of that may be present because of Trump as opposed to Obama?  Arguably he has a point.  Consider the rioting and rampage that occurred in various metropolitan areas as marauders roamed the streets, smashed windows, beat up Trump supporters, set things on fire, etc while proclaiming that Trump is "not my president".  Consider all those Clinton supporters who claimed to be traumatized, with many campuses setting up crisis counseling centers all because their candidate lost.  Perhaps Jenkins is concerned that UND students will have their noses put out of joint in such great numbers that he'll have trouble setting up enough counseling centers, safe spaces, etc.  Such a circus might indeed dwarf what he faced in 2009.  Does Jenkins realized what he might have admitted?  He might have cheered all the mayhem that happened elsewhere after the election, but isn't so keen with the prospect of his own campus being trashed by overgrown brats.  Well, just as he jailed the pro-life protesters, he can grow a backbone and be prepared to haul away any rampaging snowflakes.

Such double standards these progressives have!  And now the masks are coming off their faces.

Notre Dame Establishes "GLTBQ" Student Organization

The University of Notre Dame and Georgetown University seem to by vying with each other to win the prize for besmirching their once-Catholic heritages and leading their students down the primrose path to hell.  This week the spotlight is on Notre Dame.  Notre Dame president Father John Jenkins (no, he didn't get sacked after the 2009 Obama debacle) announced the formation of a "GLTBQ" student organization.  Why?  In Father's own words, "to expand and enhance the support and services for students who identify as gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual and questioning".  Another main goal is "to create and sustain a welcome and inclusive environment for all students".

Uh-oh!  There's that word "inclusive" again!

I thought Father Jenkins was a priest - no?  As such, isn't one of his main purposes "to save souls"?  Nowhere do I see diddly-squat being said about saving the souls of these students who are admittedly flirting with mortal sin.  Let's be clear - homosexual acts are, objectively speaking, acts that are mortally sinful.  Those who engage in them, knowing that they contravene God's laws, imperil their immortal souls.  If they are engaged in these sinful lifestyles, they are on the road to damnation.  How will this "student organization" address this dire situation?  Will they preach God's truth so that these young people will leave that sinful lifestyle and go to Confession?  This pressing spiritual crisis far outweighs any contrived need for "inclusive environments".

The local bishop (of the Fort Wayne/South Bend diocese), Bishop Kevin Rhoades is "hopeful" that the group will be faithful to Church teaching.  Hopeful?  That implies that fidelity to Church teaching on the part of this student organization is not at all certain!  Even this statement by the local bishop does not address the spiritual plight of the students already embroiled in the mortally-sinful homosexual lifestyle.

What is needed, more than any "inclusive" stuff, is the proclamation of the Church's teaching on life, marriage, holiness, etc and emphasis on the need for the Sacraments.  Otherwise, this "inclusive" student group will be one big occasion for mortal sin.  Tomorrow is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.  Let us ask Our Lady's intercession for this university that still bears her name.

More Shame From Notre Shame

Whew!  It's a good thing that Jenkins et al got rid of their ND88 boondoggle because they managed to put their feet in it again as this National Catholic Register article details.  They recently appointed to their Board of Trustees one Roxanne Martino, a ND alumna, a reputedly accomplished businesswoman and - oh, yes! - a big-time contributer to Emily's List.  Most people who are half awake understand Emily's List to be a cabal dedicated to the election of pro-abortion Democrat women to public office.  If you're just waking up, never fear - just look at the Emily List mission statement on their webpage; they have no bones about proclaiming their "purpose", such as it is.

When the news broke and went viral, the ND officials - including Fr Jenkins - tried to tell us that Martino, who is supposed to be a smart business person, had no idea that she contributed over $25k to an outfit whose sole, plainly-stated mission, is to get pro-abortion women elected.  But it's just a teensy-weensy little goof, right?   So much for "damage control"!

I'm now waiting for Georgetown University to pull off some stupendous stupidity.  Has anyone else noticed that Georgetown and Notre Dame seem to alternate with each other in providing grandeose insult to the Faith?  It's almost like a contest between the two!

The Guardians of the Grotto and the Cardinal Newman Society both helped to break this news.  Below is the Vortex take on the matter.  Click here if you cannot see embedded video.

The Hypocrisy of Father Jenkins - Another Thrilling Chapter

By now most of you have heard the not-so-startling news that in 2007, when anti-war (Catholic Worker) and pro-gay (Soulforce) demonstrators dared to set their big toes on the campus of Notre Dame, they suffered no legal repercussions whatsoever.  They were arrested, processed, released - and that was that!  No trial, no specter of fines or jail sentences hanging over their heads.

Contrast that to the treatment meted out to those who protested on-campus the honors bestowed upon the Messiah Most Miserable in May 2009.  This group is known as the ND 88 (although one of them has since passed away).  They were no more violent than were Soulforce or the Catholic Worker people, yet they are being treated much more harshly.  Why?

Petition to Drop Charges Against the Notre Dame 88

You'll recall from last May that Notre Dame University, a FORMERLY Catholic institution, sullied itself by inviting the Messiah Most Miserable to give the commencement address and to receive an "honorary" (using the term "honor" laughingly) degree.

Eighty-eight prolife activisits, at various times and locations during that period, were arrested for giving pro-life witness.  Most of the arrests occurred on campus, and were done with the approval, if not the actual mandate, of Father Jenkins, the University president.  While he now claims that he does not have the legal authority to have the charges dropped, common sense dictates that a request from him to do so would have great bearing on the matter and would most likely result in dismissal.  Reasonable people can conclude that the courts would rather not be bothered with a myriad of tresspass cases, and would most likely welcome the request for dismissals so they could move onto other matters.

The Thomas More Society, Human Life International and Lifesite News have drawn up an online petition to ask that Father Jenkins request dismissal of the charges.  We link to that petition here and ask that you sign it, and to please advise those whom you know to sign it as well.  Thank you.

Open Letter to Father Jenkins of Notre Dame

Father Jenkins, Mr. X forwarded to me your reply to him regarding the arrests at Notre Dame last May.

I am not a lawyer and am not versed in the various legalities of who has what authority to drop charges or who has what property rights over the campus of Notre Dame. I do believe that these are minor questions, and perhaps even red herrings to avoid dealing with more fundamental issues.

We all know that on campus at that time were people of many various opinions regarding the decision to honor President Obama. Many of these individuals expressed their opinions by wearing clothing, carrying signs, etc. I speak not only of the Catholics protesting Obama’s appearance, but those individuals who approved of Obama’s appearance. Yet only those people who opposed Obama’s appearance were barred from campus and subsequently arrested. Obviously there were distinctions made on basis of expressed opinions. You mentioned that the police were professional in their demeanor. Given that, there is no way that the police would have made distinctions concerning who would be admitted to campus and who would not be granted such admission; they lacked the authority to do so, and they knew it. They had to receive instructions from some other authority. That authority, Father, could have come only from your office.

The response you gave to Mr. X is the same pathetic cop-out that you have given to many others. It is an attempt to play Pontius Pilate by washing your hands of this matter while trying to pawn responsibility to Indiana legal authorities, when these Catholic people were plainly arrested at the behest of Notre Dame authorities. It is utter nonsense to claim that you are unable to at least ask that the charges be dropped, when those charges exist because you forbade them to come onto campus. Let me be plain, and please direct this to the Board of Directors and to the Trustees of Notre Dame. By extending that ill-advised invitation to one of the most pro-abortion presidents in United States history, Notre Dame seriously besmirched its very identity as a Catholic institution. Will you continue to bring shame upon Notre Dame by prosecuting these people? What have you to gain, Father, by doing so? Do you think your seared conscience will somehow be assuaged by your vindictive pursuit of these charges against good Catholic people? Why not urge the authorities to drop those charges and retain at least some shred of dignity and honor for yourself and Notre Dame?

Father, this letter to you is open. It appears in the blog http://restore-dc-catholicism.blogspot.com, under a posting with the date of this email. Any replies – or lack thereof – will likewise be posted. Please do the right thing and have these charges dropped.
Praying that God will bless you with common sense and wisdom regarding this matter, I am

Janet Baker, President, Faithful Catholics of MD/DC, Inc.

Here's the email from Fr Jenkins that occasioned this open letter:

(begin quote)
Thank you for your email regarding Notre Dame’s response to the arrests of protesters on campus in connection with the commencement exercises in May.

As I understand, you are calling upon Notre Dame to “drop the charges” against those arrested for criminal trespass. It is important to note that these protesters were arrested for trespassing, not for expressing their pro-life position; we agree with them and uphold the Catholic Church’s position on the sanctity of human life.

Under Indiana law, however, Notre Dame is not the complainant in these matters and so is not in any position to “drop the charges.” Nevertheless, Notre Dame officials have been in regular contact with the prosecutor’s office on these matters, and, in consultation with the University, the prosecutor has offered Pre-Trial Diversion to those for whom the May incident was a first-time offense. As described by the prosecutor, this program does not require the individual to plead guilty or go through a trial; rather, the charges are dropped after one year so long as the individual does not commit another criminal offense. We understand that most of those arrested have chosen not to take advantage of this offer and obviously we cannot force them to do so. In essence, the choice of whether or not to go to trial belongs to the defendants.

Finally, it must be stated that the police who were on duty during this time were professional and respectful in carrying out their responsibilities to protect private property. Each person was given fair warning to leave the campus prior to any arrests.

Hopefully, this information provides you with a greater understanding of the issues involved in this matter. Again, thank you for writing. (end quote)