Golden Moment

Last post: May 10. One post a month is pretty pathetic. What have I been doing?

Well, let me tell you, the other night I had the craziest dream...

...I dreamed that Golden Tate had decided to abandon us and move out to the West Coast. (Come back, Golden!) So there he was in this snazzy apartment building hanging out with his new buds (what, Golden, we were really not good enough for you?) And his buddy said, "mmmmm you know what I want some maple bars, I'll get you one too." Golden agreed and they went to this doughnut shop that just randomly happens to be in their apartment building.

BUT it was 3:00am and the shop was closed. "No problem," says Golden's friend, "They always leave the back door open," and all of a sudden he's in the store! He brings out several maple bars and he and Golden devour them. Mmmm mmm mmm.

THEN the cops arrive! Golden Tate just stands there with crumbs all over him and says "But they are so irresistible!!"

The cops shrug their shoulders "Don't we know! Trust us, we know the best donuts in town, and boy, you found 'em." So even though they were about to haul Golden off to jail, they wrote him a warning (which I'm pretty sure was actually a note that said "Make sure you grab some for us next time.)

Just when I thought this dream couldn't get any weirder suddenly Pete Carroll comes out of no where! Gosh, I hate Pete Carroll....what a creep...like Reggie Bush...&*#$ Trojans...BUT...here's the kicker (no puns intended) Petie is Golden's coach! WOAH! WHAT?


Pete mumbles something about Irish $#*! and then "I'm not disappointed in the guy being at a doughnut shop when they've got maple bars like Top Pot has...However, under the circumstances ... I think they were closed, or something like that, or they were trying to close. So that's definitely wrong, and we've talked about it and addressed it. And he's most remorseful. But I do understand the allure of the maple bars.....they are soooooo good....irresistible! Oh yes, they CAN be irresistible. Golden, did you get some for me too?"

Golden then handed him a bag of doughnuts and promised that he'd pay for them the next time.


Then I realized the TRUTH behind Charlie's weight problem...he'd taught his players to get him doughnuts at all times of the day at all costs.

Watch out Pete! (Not that I really care about you or your weight)


It was the wackiest dream I'd had in a really long time...


...oh wait. That wasn't a dream. That ACTUALLY HAPPENED and it's one of the sports headlines in practically every paper.

Oy.


Good job, Golden.




PS I just found the 911 call
Apparently Golden's buddy actually stole a night baker's keys to get back in, but Golden brought the keys back to her.

Conference Announcement

Notre Dame Right to Life

announces its

5th Annual
Collegiate Conference
April 9 & 10, 2010

For the last five years, the student prolife organization of the University of Notre Dame has hosted an annual conference discussing topics pertinent to the prolife movement.

This year's speakers include:
George Weigel,
Fr. Thomas Berg
Joan Lewis
Dr. Maureen Condic
and
keynote speaker: Francis Cardinal George


The conference is open to all (university student or not). For non-Notre Dame students, they are asking a small donation of $10 to help defray the cost of the conference.

Notre Dame's an easy drive from Chicago, Milwaukee, Peoria, Indianapolis, Detroit, etc. Regardless of where you are, but especially if you're anywhere nearby, you should consider coming.

If you'd like to attend, registration may be found here.


My personal recommendation:
As a veteran conference chair and NDRTL president, I cannot encourage you enough to attend this conference. There are a number of annual conferences at Notre Dame that are well worth attending - notably the Center For Ethics & Culture's Fall Conference & the Edith Stein Project. The NDRTL conference, however, is often overlooked, and it really shouldn't be. The speakers, frankly, are always of the highest caliber and the attendees are very committed to discussing and pursuing the issues of the conference. I should also mention it's the cheapest. For non-students, the others cost over $100, but the NDRTL conference is FREE (unless you want to donate $10 - and instead of listening to undergrads read their papers, you get to listen internationally renowned leaders speak. Please promote this conference and help move it's status from Notre Dame's Best Kept Secret to Notre Dame's Most Popular Event.

Viewing & Funeral Details for Gail Walton

For those of you in the area who would like to pay your respects here are the viewing and funeral details for Gail Walton:

Viewing:
Monday, March 1, 2010
4:00-8:00pm
Kaniewski Funeral Home
3545 North Bendix Drive
South Bend

Funeral:
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
9:30am
Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame

The Notre Dame Liturgical Choir will sing the Mass.

Please continue to keep Gail's family in your prayers.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord.

RIP Gail Walton

RIP Gail Walton

Yesterday, around 5:00p.m. Gail Walton, beloved director of the Notre Dame Liturgical Choir, coordinator of the Basilica Choirs, wife and mother passed from this vale of tears after a battle with leukemia at the age of 55.

It's difficult to begin to write about Gail. She was an amazing and wonderful woman, so selfless and tireless.

As Director of Music at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame, a position she held since 1988, Gail was extremely influential in liturgical music. She was an excellent musician, married to another wonderful musician, ND organ professor Craig Cramer. They were "the cutest couple" in everyone's eyes - especially when they played dual organ recitals.

Gail was everyone's second mom. She was always looking out for you, but she never looked out for her self. Last year she hurt her foot - falling off a stool if I remember correctly. The doctors told her the foot had to rest and be in its boot until it healed. But how do you play organ with a boot on your foot? So she took it off. I scolded her after one of our rehearsals (she was not only director of the Liturgical Choir, but assistant director of the Women's Liturgical Choir to which I belong) and told her she had to take care herself. She laughed and said she'd be ok. That was Gail. Our head director visited her just before Christmas. The doctors had allowed her to return home for a period, so long as she was strictly on bedrest. Was Gail following the doctors' orders? Of course not. She was baking, trimming the tree and doing all manner of things around the house. That was Gail. She was a such a wonderful woman...Absolutely unstoppable.

She was a perfectionist too and always drove us to be the best we could be. Everyone loved Gail. She will be missed so much - she already is. It's hard to believe she's gone.

Please take a moment to pray for Gail and her family, especially her husband. This has been so difficult for him.


Requiescat in pace.
In Paradisum deducant angeli...Chorus angelorum te suscipiat...Aeternam habeas requiem.


Gail conducts the Liturgical Choir in a 2008 concert:

(The Mawby Ave Verum (at the 5:20 mark) is one of my favorites)

Update: I've expanded this post over the Pious Sodality of Church Ladies. Funeral details are posted here. Thank you for your continued prayers for Gail and her family. Please remember the Notre Dame community, particularly the Choirs as well.

RIP - Ralph McInerny

Prof. Ralph McInerny past into eternal life at 7:45 this morning.

To be honest, while I can't stop crying right now, I also can't help smiling just a little at how fitting it is that Prof. McInerny leaves this Earth the day after the feast his beloved Thomas Aquinas. Prof. McInerny was one of my most favorite professors. He was always so sweet and always had some witty remark.

I think the last time I saw him was at a lecture a bit over a year ago. He was lecturing on Baron Corvo for the Center for Ethics and Culture. While the lecture series was to encourage the audience to read the works of the featured authors, dear Ralph had nothing good to say about Corvo. It was a wonderful, hilarious lecture.

Other memories of Ralph:
My Dante & Aquinas class enjoying an end-of-the-semester dinner with our professor:



Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.


Other links:
First Things
Francis Beckwith

March for Life 2010

The folks at AUL (Americans United for Life) have created something that deserves a prize. I'm just not sure which prize it deserves.

Now you have the opportunity to march online, alongside your fellow pro-lifers - even if you can't be in Washington. AUL Action is proud to host the first Virtual March for Life.

It will only take seconds, sign up, select your own "avatar" and then invite your pro-life friends and family to participate as well. It's the best way to "be there" even if you can't be there.

You can also check out the avatars of Leaders Marching for Life.

I think my favorite is Joe the Plumber:



I'm not sure what they were going for, but last time I checked, Our Man Joe didn't have yellow eyebrows:




For whatever it's worth, though, feel free to head on over there and join the throngs. When you're done you can find yourself on the Mall.



It's nice, and all that, but in a couple hours, I'm going to be boarding a bus along with many, many other Domers and making the 12 hour trek down there so I can be at the March in person!

By the way, in case you were wondering, Notre Dame is sponsoring 8 buses with a total of over 370 students (a record breaking year!) In addition, over 30 faculty and staff members will join them in D.C. along with numerous alumni and friends.

Go Irish, Save Babies!

Please keep us, and all marchers, mothers, fathers, babies, and lawmakers in your prayers.

Thank you.

This Too Shall Pass

A couple months ago the band Ok Go came to film a music video with the Notre Dame Marching Band. It's finally up and is highly amusing.

They have embeding disabled, but just click here to see it.

The uniforms are not the band's real uniforms of course - except for the drum major's. I'm pretty sure they just put white tape over "IRISH" on the sleeve cuffs.

Apparently the band found the following performance of their song "Here it Goes Again" on YouTube. They loved it so much they decided the Band of the Fighting Irish would have to be a part of a future video.




One of the band directors, Matt Merten, has posted this clip from a local new channel detailing the story. Laura Taylor, band member and current Notre Dame Tridentine Mass community secretary, gets a nice little spot.



P.S. John Nagy also has an article up on ND Magazine about it. Read that here.

Saint Brother?

It's been a while since I posted, hasn't it? I think I even missed a Monday or two didn't I? It's a shame, because there's a lot to share.

Commenting on current events: Did you hear that Popes JP2 and Pius XII are going to be declared venerable? And, in Notre Dame interest, Bl. Br. Andre CSC will soon be made a saint as his second miracle was recognized! How exciting!

Matthias and I are at his mom's now (just got in last night) for a much needed Christmas vacation. Upon reading the above news, we started discussing the habit people have of calling Bl. Andre "Blessed *Brother* Andre." Will we call him Saint Brother Andre too?

I've noticed people do this with Mother Teresa (see, there I go). Why not just Bl. Teresa?

Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to be a more modern phenomenon. How many saints or beati can you think of who we call by their title as well as "saint" or "blessed?" The ones I can think of lived with in the last century or two.

Basil Moreau seems to have taken a pass on this little trend. I think I've only heard "Blessed Father Moreau" once.

Why is that? Familiarity with these people as Brother, Mother, Father, etc?

I know it's not exactly the same, but how about the Cure of Ars? Surely there have been other Cures in Ars since St. John Marie left this world.

Thoughts?

Fighting...

Apparently the Zebra Fish/Stem Cell Commercial isn't the only good one we have this year. On Saturday, a friend called my attention to this one as well.


Bengal Bouts is one of the great things that makes Notre Dame great.

My friend said this aired during the Boston College game. "Haha BC, we beat you in football and steal your best Jesuit?" Well, I won't comment on that. But I'm very glad we do have Fr. Daley.

Rhoades!

Yesterday it was announced in Rome that Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Harrisburg will be installed as the new bishop of the Diocese of Ft. Wayne/South Bend.

Our new bishop-designate is wasting no time in surveying his new charge. --Or maybe, dear Bishop D'Arcy is wasting no time in finally passing it on! The morning found the two bishops at the Cathedral in Ft. Wayne, the evening at the Vigil Mass at Notre Dame, and at night, vespers at St. Matthew's Cathedral in South Bend. (Ft. Wayne/South Bend is one of the few dioceses with co-cathedrals)

Yesterday was also the closing day of the Center for Ethics and Culture's 9th Annual Conference (this year entitled "The Summons of Freedom: Virtue, Sacrifice and the Common Good"), which brought the bishops to Notre Dame. Bishop D'Arcy was already scheduled to say the Saturday Vigil Mass in the Basilica for the conference. After the announcement of the bishop was made, the electrifying news quickly spread through conference attendees: Bishop D'Arcy would be bringing Bishop Rhoades!

One of my friends observed, as we were preparing for Mass: "A bishop's announced, and look at how many priests come out of the woodwork." Fr. Hesburgh was present to greet the bishops. Fr. Jenkins, surprisingly, was absent, but sent Fr. McDonald as his representative.

Bishop D'Arcy warmly welcomed not only the conference participants, but also members of NDResponse who had greeted him as he arrived at the Basilica.

At the end of Mass, Bishop Rhoades spoke for a few minutes. He graciously addressed the university, but more specifically the Center for Ethics and Culture (which, it should be noted, lost funding from the university administration earlier this year). He praised the Center, the conference and its participants for being good examples of positive contributors to the Church.

After the Mass, the Bishops stayed around to greet the congregation - again, mostly participants of the Center's conference.

Bishop D'Arcy introduces Sr. Ann Astell of the ND Theology faculty to Bishop Rhoades
Photo: me 11/14/09

On a personal note: Bishop Rhoades was delighted to hear I was from Maryland. He immediately mentioned Mount St. Mary's and his time as rector there - it seems he was quite fond of his time there. I'm glad. I'm sure that experience will be very useful in dealing with Our Lady's University.

And in other news, my friends spent a good part of the day and the closing banquet of the conference trying to figure out what "Kevin" is in Latin.


P.S. Some Articles on the News:

The South Bend Tribune

The Notre Dame Observer
Rhoades - on Whispers in the Loggia

Speaking of Johnny O...

(as students fondly call him)
...the other day he published a great piece on the conflict of science and faith over on The Catholic Thing.

When I was a physics major in college, my father happened to be a professor of Medieval Philosophy at the same institution. One day, after lecturing on Dante and the Music of the Spheres, he happened across my physics professor, Jim Lang: “Jim, can you hear the music of the spheres?” Lang: “Hear it? Hear it? Bill, I can’t turn the damn stuff off!” That ought to be our attitude toward the ways in which the invisible things of God are made visible by the things of creation, which I think is the crux of the question, “Are we beyond the conflict between science and faith?”
Read On!

Seriously, follow the link and read it. It is well worth it.

Also, if you haven't yet frequented The Catholic Thing, start doing so. The contributors are among the best Catholic intellectual leaders in the country.

At last! A good commerical!

Aired this weekend during the ND/Navy football game on NBC:


Sure beats the fighting global warming one.

HT to Fr. Wurtz

Providence

One of my former classmates posted this recollection of one of our most outstanding and memorable classes. I have to share. The story and message have stayed with many of us from that class, and the telling is still vivid in my mind.

A philosophy professor of mine once told a story from when he was an undergraduate* at Notre Dame. He would routinely go to pray at the Grotto (a replica of the one at Lourdes) and began to notice that the leaves surrounding the statue of Mary would turn a golden hue before any of the others showed a hint of their autumn shades. This, of course, was halfheartedly rumored to be a miracle among many of the more pious students; just as the Grotto at Lourdes was the home of a famous miracle. As it turns out, there was a perfectly rational explanation for such a phenomenon: because of the particular formation of the surrounding trees, it just so happened that the leaves around Mary's statue were exposed to more direct sunlight each day than those in the adjacent areas (or something like that). Not much of a miracle in the end.

However, as my professor pointed out, we should in fact be more astonished because of the non-miraculous nature of the phenomenon. That God was able to achieve such a "fitting" spectacle through the precise arrangement of countless natural, secondary causes makes for a more beautiful symphony. The conductor is far more impressive when a wave of his hand sets all of the other musicians in motion as a perfect and harmonious collaboration; than if he were to leave his stand, commandeer one of the instruments, and play a solo piece that drowned out the music of the orchestra.

*I'm pretty sure it was during his graduate years.

The perfect photo taken from another Irish Blog

Bob McDonnell

Virgina's Governor Elect: a son of Notre Dame

Looks like he has quite a good record thus far. A future Laetare Medal candidate?

Governor Elect McDonnell is truly Pro-Life. He is also dedicated to supporting true marriage and the family and society founded upon it. His record on these foundational issues is clear, uncompromised and consistent. He ran an effective campaign speaking to the issues which are of deep concern to Virginians, such as jobs, good governance and expanding economic opportunity.

- K. Fournier for Catholic Online

And, speaking as a working women I have to agree with his '89 thesis (which, agreeing with CMR I hope he's not really running from). The only hitch is that I'm working because of necessity right now, since the Hubby's a full time grad student and some one has to pay the bills. But, regardless, the situation is detrimental...

Hallowe'en Photos

Photo: me 10/31/09

I missed seeing them in person, but a handful of my Notre Dame friends had the best Halloween costumes of all!


Photo: Mary Z. (taken from facebook) 10/31/09

Happy All Saints Day, everyone!

Rosary Rally

On Saturday, the Children of Mary of the University of Notre Dame (a student group independent of the international organization of the same name) and Notre Dame Campus Ministry sponsored a beautiful Rosary Rally on campus.

The email announcement from Children of Mary was as follows:

The first of hopefully many annual Rosary Rallies: Saturday, October 10, 2pm at the Grotto. The prayer begins with the Living Rosary, a devotion zealously promoted by Fr. Patrick Peyton, CSC. 60-some people will each represent a bead of the Rosary, and we'll all join them to pray the Glorious Mysteries, with a sentence from Scripture before each Hail Mary. There will also be hymns to Our Lady after each decade. Then we'll process over to the Alumni Hall chapel for a 'Marian Hour' (or half-hour) of Adoration and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

The Rally was wonderful! Thanks to Fr. Neil Roy, beloved professor-priest and one of the most popular Canadians on campus, many of us learned a good number of very POD hymns. I think for the majority of the people present, Saturday's rally was their first living rosary. I remember members of the Blue Army coming and sponsoring one at my high school a few times, but it wasn't quite as involved as this Rally.

Unfortunately, due to midterms and the like, attendance wasn't quite as high as anticipated; but a respectable number of students and a few faculty members braved the chilly October weather to celebrate Our Lady's feast.















Photo Credits: me 10/10/09

Prof. Rice's Open Letter to Fr. Jenkins

Yesterday, ND Law Professor Emeritus Charlie Rice released a lengthy open letter to Fr. Jenkins:

The man does not mince words (and I've never known him too).

Since it's 5 pages long, I was only going to post highlights, but after trying to edit it, I realized it was better to post the entire piece.

Please read it.

September 21, 2009
Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.
President
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556

Dear Father Jenkins:

Professor Fred Freddoso has shared with me the response on Sept. 17th by Dr. Frances L. Shavers, Chief of Staff and Special Assistant to the President, to Fred’s email of that date to you asking that Notre Dame request dismissal of the charges against the persons arrested for trespass on the campus in relation to the honoring of President Obama at Commencement. Dr. Shavers responded on your behalf to Fred’s email because, as she said, “the next few days are rather hectic for [Fr. Jenkins].” I don’t want to add to the hectic burden of your schedule by sending you a personal message that could impose on an assistant the task of responding. I therefore take the liberty of addressing to you several concerns in the form of this open letter to which a response is neither required nor expected.

First, permit me to express my appreciation for the expressions of support for the pro-life cause in your September 16th “Letter concerning post-commencement initiatives.” I know, however, that in a matter as significant as this, you will appreciate and welcome a respectful but very candid expression of views. In my opinion, the positions you have taken are deficient in some respects.

In your Letter of Sept. 16th, you rightly praise the work of the Women’s Care Center (WCC) and of its superb leader, Ann Murphy Manion. I commend you on your statement that the WCC “and similar centers in other cities deserve the support of Notre Dame clubs and individuals.” Your praise of the WCC and similar efforts, however, overlooks a practical step that Notre Dame, as an institution, ought to take. That would be for you, on behalf of Notre Dame, to issue a standing invitation to the WCC to establish an office on the Notre Dame campus to serve students, faculty and staff if, in the judgment of the WCC, that would be desirable and effective. Such would give practical effect, right here at Notre Dame, to your words in support of the WCC and similar efforts.

Your Letter announced your formation of the Task Force on Supporting the Choice for Life. Rather than offer a detailed evaluation of my own, I note my agreement with the personal analysis of William Dempsey, ND ’52, President of the Sycamore Trust, calling attention to “the obviously deliberate exclusion from Task Force membership of anyone associated with the ND organizations that have been unashamedly and actively pro-life: the Center for Ethics & Culture and the ND Fund for the Protection of Human Life. Nor was the student representative chosen from the leadership of the student RTL organization or from anyone active in last year’s student alliance protesting the honoring of the President, ND Response. It is hard to resist the inference that this is as a move toward marginalizing the Center and the Fund, neither of which receives any University support the way it is…. Finally, it is unsettling but instructive that this announcement comes a day after Fr. Jenkins’ annual address to the faculty in which he described his goals for the year, which included increasing female and minority faculty representation but not a word about the most crucial problem facing the university, the loss of Catholic identity through the failure to hire enough Catholics to restore the predominance required by the Mission Statement. This is a striking falling away from [Fr. Jenkins’] wonderful inaugural address. The fact that ND did nothing to serve the pro-life cause until forced by the reaction to the Obama incident testifies to the fact that, without a predominance of committed Catholics on the faculty, any pro-life efforts launched under pressure will in time fade away. The risk, and surely it is real, is that this initiative and the publicity ND is generating about it will deflect attention from the fundamental problem besetting Notre Dame….But I return to where I began: A project that deliberately excludes from participation those who have courageously manned organizations standing against the faculty attitude toward the pro-life cause ought to be regarded with suspicion.”

My main concern in this letter arises from your statement in your Letter that “Each year on January 22, the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, the March for Life is held in Washington D.C. to call on the nation to defend the right to life. I plan to participate in that march. I invite other members of the Notre Dame Family to join me and I hope we can gather for a Mass for Life at that event.” I understand that Notre Dame students have invited you to participate with them in the March. The problem arises from an aftermath of Commencement. On this I refer back to Chief of Staff Shavers’ response to Professor Freddoso’s request that Notre Dame ask dismissal of the charges against those arrested. Dr. Shavers states that “these protesters were arrested for trespassing and not for expressing their pro-life position.” That is misleading. This is not an ordinary case of trespass to land such as would occur if a commuter walks across your lawn and flower bed as a short-cut to the train station. Notre Dame is ordinarily an open campus. Those 88 persons, 82 of whom are represented by Tom Dixon, ND ’84, ND Law School ’93, were arrested not because they were there, but because of who they were, why they were there and what they were saying. Other persons with pro-Obama signs were there but were not arrested and not disturbed. Serious legal and constitutional questions are involved, arising especially from the symbiotic relationship between the Notre Dame Security Police, who made the arrests, and the County Police. This letter is not a legal brief. Rather I merely note that it is disingenuous for Notre Dame to pretend that this is merely a routine trespass case.

The confusion is compounded by Dr. Shavers’ statement that “Under Indiana law, however, Notre Dame is not the complainant in these matters and so is not in any position to drop or dismiss the charges.” That sentence is half-true and half-false. Notre Dame is the complaining victim of the alleged trespass. Whether to dismiss the charges, of course, is for the prosecutor to decide.

Dr. Shavers states that “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.”

Pre-trial diversion could change their status as convicted criminals. But it is only because of the actions of Notre Dame that they are treated by the law as criminals in the first place. Notre Dame continues to subject those defendants to the criminal process. If they entered pretrial diversion they would each have to pay hundreds of dollars in costs, which would amount in effect to a fine imposed on them, with the concurrence of Notre Dame, for praying. Most of the 88 are in straitened financial circumstances. The imposition on them of such a fine would be a serious hardship. Instead, Notre Dame ought to state publicly that it has no interest in seeing those prosecutions proceed in any form and that it requests the prosecutor to exercise his discretion to dismiss all those charges unconditionally. Given the prospect of 88 or so separate jury trials, probably not consolidated, in cases involving potentially serious legal and constitutional issues, such a request by Notre Dame would surely be appreciated by the taxpayers of St. Joseph County.

Those 88 defendants were on the other side of the campus, far removed from the site of the Commencement. They are subjected by Notre Dame to the criminal process because they came, as individuals, to Notre Dame to pray, peacefully and non-obstructively, on this ordinarily open campus, in petition and reparation, as a response to what they rightly saw as a facilitation by Notre Dame of various objectively evil policies and programs of Notre Dame’s honoree, President Obama. Those persons, whom Notre Dame has subjected to legal process as criminals, are neither statistics nor abstractions. Let me tell you about a few of them.

Fr. Norman Weslin, O.S., 79 years old and in very poor health, was handcuffed by Notre Dame Security Police as he sang “Immaculate Mary” on the campus sidewalk near the entrance. He asked them, “Why would you arrest a Catholic priest for trying to stop the killing of a baby?” The NSDP officers put him on a pallet and dragged him away to jail. St. Joseph County Police were also there. I urge you to watch the readily available videos of Fr. Weslin’s arrest. If you do, I will be surprised and disappointed if you are not personally and deeply ashamed.

Such treatment of such a priest may be the lowest point in the entire history of Notre Dame. You would profit from knowing Fr. Weslin. Notre Dame should give Fr. Weslin the Laetare Medal rather than throw him in jail. Norman Weslin, born to poor Finnish immigrants in upper Michigan, finished high school at age 17 and joined the Army. He converted from the Lutheran to the Catholic faith and married shortly after earning his commission. He became a paratrooper and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the 82nd Airborne Division, obtaining his college degree enroute. After a distinguished career, he retired in 1968. As the legalization of abortion intensified, he and his wife, Mary Lou, became active pro-lifers in Colorado. In 1980, Mary Lou was killed by a drunk driver. Norman personally forgave the young driver. Norman Weslin was later ordained as a Catholic priest, worked with Mother Teresa in New York and devoted himself to the rescue of unborn children through nonviolent, prayerful direct action at abortuaries. In 1990 at Christmastime, I was privileged to defend Fr. Weslin and his Lambs of Christ when they were arrested at the abortuary in South Bend. One does not have to agree with the tactic of direct, non-violent action at abortuaries to have the utmost admiration, as I have, for Fr. Weslin and his associates. At Notre Dame, Fr. Weslin engaged in no obstruction or disruption. He merely sought to pray for the unborn on the ordinarily open campus of a professedly Catholic university. The theme of Notre Dame’s honoring of Obama was “dialogue.” It would have been better for you and the complicit Fellows and Trustees to dialogue with Fr. Weslin rather than lock him up as a criminal. You all could have learned something from him. His actions in defense of innocent life and the Faith have been and are heroic. Notre Dame’s treatment of Fr. Weslin is a despicable disgrace, the responsibility for which falls directly and personally upon yourself as the President of Notre Dame.

The other “criminals” stigmatized by Notre Dame include many whom this university should honor rather than oppress. One is Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff in Roe v. Wade, who has become pro-life and a Catholic actively trying to spread the word about abortion. Those “criminals” include retired professors, retired military officers, mothers of many children, a Catholic nun in full habit, Christian pastors, several Ph.Ds, and Notre Dame grads. They are, in summary, “the salt of the earth.” They came, on their own, at their own expense, and not as part of any “conspiracy,” from 18 states. They came because they love what Notre Dame claims to represent. They themselves do represent it. But one has to doubt whether Notre Dame does so anymore.

Clearly, Notre Dame should do all it can to obtain the dismissal of those criminal charges. This has nothing to do with one’s opinion of the tactics of rescue at abortuaries. It is simply a matter of you, as President, doing the manifestly right thing.

Please permit me to speak bluntly about your announced purpose to participate in the March for Life and to “invite other members of the Notre Dame Family to join me.” Notre Dame should have had an official presence at every March for Life since 1973. But until now it never has. Notre Dame students, with the encouragement of Campus Ministry, participate in the March but the University, as such, has not done so. To put it candidly, it would be a mockery for you to present yourself now at the March, even at the invitation of Notre Dame students, as a pro-life advocate while, in practical effect, you continue to be the jailer, as common criminals, of those persons who were authentic pro-life witnesses at Notre Dame. When the pictures of Fr. Weslin’s humiliation and arrest by your campus police was flashed around the world it did an incalculable damage to Notre Dame that can be partially undone only by your public and insistent request, as President of Notre Dame, that the charges be dropped. In my opinion your attachment to the March for Life, including your offering of a Mass for Life, could give scandal in the absence, at least, of such an insistent request to dismiss those charges. Your decision to present an official Notre Dame presence at the March could be beneficial, but not in the context of an unrelenting criminalization by Notre Dame of sincere and peaceful friends of Notre Dame whose offense was their desire to pray, on the campus, for the University and all concerned including yourself. If you appear at the March as the continuing criminalizer of those pro-life witnesses, you predictably will earn not approbation but scorn—a scorn which will surely be directed toward Notre Dame as well. As long as you pursue the criminalization of those pro-life witnesses, your newest pro-life statements will be regarded reasonably as a cosmetic covering of the institutional anatomy in the wake of the continuing backlash arising from your conferral of Notre Dame’s highest honor on the most relentlessly pro-abortion public official in the world.

In conclusion, this letter is not written in a spirit of contention. It is written rather in the mutual concern we share for Notre Dame—and for her university. I hope you will reconsider your positions on these matters. Our family prays for you by name every night. And we wish you success in the performance of your obligations to the University and all concerned.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Rice
Professor Emeritus
Notre Dame Law School

Sunday Brunch Conversations 1

"The Children of Mary concession stand went really well...Fr. Gallager came out and blessed the stand...he used the old book of blessings...so it went: 'Bless, Oh Lord, this Thy creature bratwurst...'"

photo cred: Myself, Oct 06 - The OBC Concession Stand '06 which also featured in the brunch conversation as both stands had the Bond Hall location.

Yesterday Fr. Jenkins sent out this email to the Notre Dame Students:

Dear Members of the Notre Dame Family,

Coming out of the vigorous discussions surrounding President Obama’s visit last Spring, I said we would look for ways to engage the Notre Dame community with the issues raised in a prayerful and meaningful way. As our nation continues to struggle with the morality and legality of abortion, embryonic stem cell research, and related issues, we must seek steps to witness to the sanctity of life. I write to you today about some initiatives that we are undertaking.

Each year on January 22, the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, the March for Life is held in Washington D.C. to call on the nation to defend the right to life. I plan to participate in that march. I invite other members of the Notre Dame Family to join me and I hope we can gather for a Mass for Life at that event. We will announce details as that date approaches.

On campus, I have recently formed the Task Force on Supporting the Choice for Life. It will be co-chaired by Professor Margaret Brinig, the Fritz Duda Family Chair in Law and Associate Dean for the Law School, and by Professor John Cavadini, the Chair of the Department of Theology and the McGrath-Cavadini Director of the Institute for Church Life. My charge to the Task Force is to consider and recommend to me ways in which the University, informed by Catholic teaching, can support the sanctity of life. Possibilities the Task Force has begun to discuss include fostering serious and specific discussion about a reasonable conscience clause; the most effective ways to support pregnant women, especially the most vulnerable; and the best policies for facilitating adoptions. Such initiatives are in addition to the dedication, hard work and leadership shown by so many in the Notre Dame Family, both on the campus and beyond, and the Task Force may also be able to recommend ways we can support some of this work.

I also call to your attention the heroic and effective work of centers that provide care and support for women with unintended pregnancies. The Women’s Care Center, the nation’s largest Catholic-based pregnancy resource center, on whose Foundation Board I serve, is run by a Notre Dame graduate, Ann Murphy Manion (’77). The center has proven successful in offering professional, non-judgmental concern to women with unintended pregnancies, helping those women through their pregnancy and supporting them after the birth of their child. The Women’s Care Center and similar centers in other cities deserve the support of Notre Dame clubs and individuals.

Our Commencement last Spring generated passionate discussion and also caused some divisions in the Notre Dame community. Regardless of what you think about that event, I hope that we can overcome divisions to foster constructive dialogue and work together for a cause that is at the heart of Notre Dame’s mission. We will keep you informed of our work, and we ask for your support, assistance and prayers. May Our Lady, Notre Dame, watch over our efforts.

In Notre Dame,

Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.

I'm really not sure how a feel about this. Is it just a new cloak to cover up the commencement stain?

ND Right to Life has been inviting the university president, as well as other high ranking administrative officials and figureheads, to join them on the March for Life every year for the past few years. All invitations have been turned down.

Why now, Fr. Jenkins?

Had he accepted this invitation 2 years ago I would have been impressed (if that's the right word). And had he invited Obama to speak after he'd been on several of the Marches then maybe I would have believed that the invitation was truly in the spirit of dialog. But as things stand, I'm not sold.

Also, what's up with "The Choice for Life?" Is it a choice?

Despite the name, I hope the Task Force will accomplish great things. Maybe the Women's Care Center will finally open a branch on campus so as to actually, effectively serve ND/SMC students as it's founder Janet Smith intended. Goodness knows it's needed.

So, thanks for the shout-out, Fr. Jenkins.

Seriously and sincerely here: I really haven't given up hope on anyone or the university. And, for as critical as I might be sounding here, there is a lot of promise in this message and in the rumblings I recently heard.

Notre Dame, Our Mother, pray for us!

Winded

Busy day at work. Crazy day...wouldn't have gotten lunch had the 1:00 not shown. So here I am, wolfing down lunch and blogging just a bit to relax (a little!) before the phone rings again.

I've been working on updating our referral guide here at work. It's a listing of local community services and doctors. It hasn't been updated in ages. I burned through 2 volunteers trying to get it down and have been doing it solo for this last leg. I wanted to have it done by staff meeting tomorrow, but with the insanity of today's schedule it's unlikely I'll meet my goal.

If anyone has any South Bend/Mishawaka resources that could be helpful for out clients that you'd like to share, please post below.

Thanks.

Happy September, by the way. And how about that first shutout in 7 years? It's about time! My family and a bunch of friends came in for the game this past weekend. Good times :-) Labor day was also a welcome break...but looks like I'm making up for it today!