In 2004, the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops released a
statement on Catholics in political life that directed, "The
Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor
those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles.
They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would
suggest support for their actions." For Catholic Democrats, and
especially those related to Notre Dame, rationalizing Pres.
Obama's invitation to speak and receive an honorary degree of
laws at Notre Dame's commencement requires suspending logic or
ignoring this statement. That rationalization is more difficult
in light of
29 bishops writing Fr. John Jenkins, the president of Notre
Dame, condemning his decision to invite Obama. When the leaders
of the flock object so strenuously to honoring Obama, it forces
you to reconsider either your support of Obama as commencement
speaker or your adherence to the Church.
One of the 25 bishops is Francis Cardinal George, the archbishop
of Chicago. Cardinal George called the decision "an extreme
embarassment" and stated, "whatever else is clear, it is clear
that Notre Dame didn't understand what it means to be Catholic
when they issued this invitation..."
Little did Cardinal George know that in speaking on this matter
of the Church he exposed himself to a
lecture by William M. Daley, Catholic former Sec. of Commerce
and member of the Chicago Daleys. Daley wrote in the
Tribune that "Cardinal George's stand is an
embarrassment to Chicago Catholics, and furthers the divide
between the church, its members and the rest of America." He also
graced the Cardinal with an exposition on morality, the Church
hierarchy, and the role of faith in politics. His argument
amounted to the claim that the Church and its colleges should
engage in endless dialog with a world that is otherwise permitted
to do whatever it wants.
Never mind Daley's tortured logic. As a member of Clinton's
cabinet, co-chairman of Obama's presidential campaign, and member
of Chicago's ruling family, Daley is a premier Catholic Democrat.
When faced with an irreconcilable tension between his preferred
candidate and the incontrovertible teachings of his faith, Daley
apparently choses the former. And he doesn't choose politics over
faith quietly: he finds the biggest megaphone he can to impugn
the guardians of the faith.
Daley writes,
But the fact is that American Catholics are divided over the
difficult moral issues of stem-cell research and abortion. It's
important that students, and Catholics generally, be exposed to
people with different ideas and ways of thinking. Indeed, it is
particularly important for them to hear from President Obama,
whom a majority of voters-including a majority of Catholic
voters-have chosen to lead our country through difficult times.
In other words, he thinks Cardinal George should reconsider the
basic tenets of the Catholic faith in light of popular opinion.
In making this claim, Daley is stating that he believes that the
Church hierarchy has no role in faith formation. Remember,
Catholics believe that the bishops follow in a direct line from
the Apostles, whom Jesus Christ entrusted with spreading the
Gospel. In Daley's world it is the people who voted Democratic
who must spread the Party platform to the bishops. Does he
represent the Democratic view of religion -- that when its
protectors interfere with the advancement of their politicians,
they must be publicly defied and their words distorted? It seems
like the more honest approach would be to consider their
teachings more thoughtfully or else give up the pretense of
commitment to the faith.
