Kyle Bell

President Obama delivered the commencement address at the University of Notre Dame today in my hometown of South Bend, Indiana. It is an honor to have President Obama back in South Bend as President of the United States. Just about this time last year he was visiting the city campaigning for the Indiana primary. Now he has the difficult task of running our nation’s government.

The President was greeted by both well wishers and protesters. As the right wing Republican machine has done so frequently throughout his short term as the leader of our nation, they opposed his very presence. Their argument is clear: if you do not hold their position then you are not welcome. Essentially if their policy were adopted by the University then a “Democrats need not apply” sign might as well be posted on the Golden Dome.

Thankfully cooler heads prevailed in the matter. Father Jenkins was a gracious host and stood up to the pressure that Catholic leaders from Bishops to activists have put on him for the past month. While it is unfortunate that anti-abortion outsiders decided that this venue was appropriate, the graduation ceremony went on without a hitch (at least mostly – there were a few brief interruptions).

Let it be known to all of you from around the country looking at this media spectacle: the students and faculty of Notre Dame, as well as a majority of Catholics across the country, stand behind the decision to invite President Obama. The small minority that did protest, only a few dozen people, were mostly from out of state. They really had no business even being in South Bend.

I am perfectly fine if the students want to protest. It’s their graduation, afterall. But to have people like Alan Keyes, whom President Obama defeated in the Illinois Senate race in 2004, is pretty disgraceful. Unlike President Bush, who was invited in 2001 and was responsible for overseeing more inmates being put to death than any other governor in history (which is against Church teaching), President Obama has no direct connection to any abortions.

The president has no control over abortion laws and he never will. To vote on an issue like this for which the person seeking office has no legislative authority is mind boggling to me. Then to turn around and hold it against him when he speaks at a university is even more so. Notre Dame is a university. It is not a theological school, it does not require its students to be Catholic or practice Catholic teachings. Perhaps these activists would like to see Notre Dame institute an admissions policy where all new students would be required to convert to Christianity and hold Catholic beliefs. At any rate, these are absurd objections.