Free Condoms Cause More Student Pregnancies: Study

A new study issued by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) concludes that students at schools that provide free condoms have ten percent higher birth rates, and independent research shows that twenty percent of teens say that instruction on contraceptives encourages them to have sex.

We find clear evidence that access to condoms in schools leads to an increase in teen fertility. . . . School condom distribution programs could encourage risky sexual behaviors, promote the use of the condom over methods that better prevent pregnancy, or cause schools to shift resources away from more effective programs.
-- Kasey Buckles and Daniel M. Hungerman, Notre Dame University economists

For background, read President Obama Funds Condom Delivery Service to Pre-teens

Click headlines below to read previous articles:

Teenage Pregnancy & Birth Rates Drop to Historic Lows

Abstinent Teens the Norm, Moral Sex-Ed Works: Study

And yet, Abstinence Education is Illegal in California per Judge's Ruling

And read how public schools across America provide sex training for children.

-- From "Study: Teen Birth Rates Rose in Schools That Gave Out Free Condoms With No Instruction" by Christina Cauterucci, Staff Writer, Slate 6/15/16

A new data analysis of in-school condom distribution programs from the 1990s has added new complexity to our understanding of teen pregnancy prevention. Most previous studies have shown that access to free contraception decreases teen birth rates, but this is the first robust study of condom-only programs. Researchers Kasey Buckles and Daniel Hungerman of the University of Notre Dame found that teen births rose 10 percent at schools that gave out free condoms to students.

. . . The authors tracked pregnancy rates before and after the condom programs were introduced in each school, and they compared these numbers to the pregnancy rates at schools that had no condom program at all and the pregnancy rates among young women aged 20 to 24 in the same areas as the school. This allowed them to control for the possibility that broader societal shifts were driving the rising pregnancy rates in the schools that offered free condoms.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Not All Contraception Is Created Equal" by Dwyer Gunn, Pacific Standard 6/15/16

. . . the theoretical effects of providing free birth control to teenagers actually are ambiguous. On the one hand, condoms can prevent pregnancy if used correctly. On the other hand, providing teenagers with free birth control might increase sexual activity, and thus have the unintended effect of increasing teen fertility.

Buckles and Hungerman propose several possible explanations for their findings. Perhaps free condoms serve as a substitute for more reliable forms of birth control, such as the pill. Or perhaps they nudge a teenager who might otherwise be on the margins of becoming sexually active into engaging in sexual activity.

Ultimately, the authors suggest that their data best fits an interesting explanation that was first presented in a 1999 paper in the American Journal of Public Health, which found that condom use actually declined as condoms became more available in schools. . . .

It’s not entirely clear if today’s teens would respond to free condoms in the same way as the ’90s-era teens of Buckles’ and Hungerman’s research. Today’s teenagers are less likely to be sexually active and have access to more reliable forms of birth control, research has found.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Schools that distribute free condoms have higher teen birth rates: study" by Claire Chretien, LifeSiteNews 6/16/16

Buckles and Hungerman compared teen births at schools that provided students with condoms—some provided counseling on the contraceptive method and some did not—with teen girls in places without school condom programs and slightly older girls in the same location.

Leading social scientist Dr. Michael J. New told LifeSiteNews that Buckles and Hungerman’s study “breaks new ground” because there has not been as much research on the impact of condom distribution programs in high schools as there has been on the impact of oral contraceptives.

“Overall, this study adds to a substantial body of research which shows that efforts to encourage contraception use through legalization, distribution or subsidies are ineffective at best or counterproductive at worst,” continued New. “Even the Guttmacher Institute acknowledges that availability of the birth control pill in the 1960s led to higher rates of teen sexual activity. Furthermore, another Guttamcher study found simultaneous increases in contraceptive use and abortion rates in the United States, Cuba, Denmark, Netherlands, Singapore, and South Korea.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Study: Higher teen birth rates for schools giving free condoms" by Michael F. Haverluck, OneNewsNow.com 6/18/16

According to Ascend — an organization formerly known as the National Abstinence Education Association — President and CEO Valerie Huber explained that the aforementioned survey her organization conducted in partnership with the Barna Group divulged that two times the number of males — compared to females — came away from condom demonstrations at schools with the message that they were expected to have sex.

“[School programs that] normalize teen sex [and imply] sexual activity is a normal part of adolescent development, [combined with] condom distribution within even the class or maybe in the school clinic [mean schools are] tacitly saying and sometimes explicitly saying, ‘Hey, as long as you use this, you don’t have to worry about any of the consequences,’” Huber insists.

The pro-family leader maintains that the misleading message that teen pregnancies and the contraction of sexually transmitted diseases will not happen to them — in addition to the fact that underdeveloped adolescent brains are incapable of making fulling rational decisions — work together to create the “perfect storm” that can devastate the lives of teens.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Too Many Minority Babies, Feds Say of Teen Births

Notre Dame Honors Pro-abortion VP—Students Protest

Notre Dame students say they will skip the May 15th commencement ceremonies if the university awards the Laetare Medal to Vice President Joe Biden or former Speaker of the House John Boehner because neither self-proclaimed Catholic politicians' actions warrant the honor.

“I don't think it makes sense to honor politicians for being politicians, but divorce that from the actual things they've done in office.”
-- Tom Bradley, student

“The purpose is to give it to someone who's been a faithful Catholic and has served the church in public life. And I don't believe that either of these two have done that exceptionally well.”
-- Hailey Vrdolyak, student

For background, read Vice President Biden Says 'Gay Rights' Trump Religious Beliefs and also Advocates Sexual Deviancy

Also read Vice President Biden Takes Communion in Rome, Pope Opposed and Bishops Chasten the VP

Click headlines below to read previous articles:

Notre Dame Rejects Students for Natural Marriage

Notre Dame Blesses Homosexual Student Organization

Notre Dame Pays Students for Homosexual Activism

Also read Catholics Blast Notre Dame for Honoring Barack Obama (the abortion president)



-- From "Notre Dame students hold pro-life prayer service in response to Laetare Medal controversy" by Michelle Beck, WNDU-TV16 (South Bend, IN) 4/18/16

Students argued that although both men are Catholic, they don't have a strong record of supporting pro-life legislation.

In an afternoon of prayer and songs near the grotto, the students say they think the university should honor more deserving candidates.

Notre Dame leaders say the award is not an endorsement of either man's political beliefs, but is a celebration of their ability to compromise and work together in DC.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Pro-Life Students Hold Prayer Vigil to Protest Notre Dame Honoring Joe Biden, John Boehner" by Michael Gryboski, Christian Post Reporter 4/18/16

[Last Sunday, about 100] Pro-life students at Notre Dame University held a prayer vigil to showcase their opposition to the Catholic school honoring Vice President Joe Biden and former House Speaker John Boehner due to the two politicians' views on abortion and the death penalty.

According to the Notre Dame Students for Life's official club statement, "by awarding the Laetare Medal to these leaders, the university has in fact compromised its Catholic identity."

"Vice President Biden has supported pro-choice politics, the death penalty and therapeutic cloning of embryos. While former Speaker of the House John Boehner is pro-life on the issue of abortion, he, too, has supported the death penalty," stated the club.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Notre Dame students holding ‘prayerful protest’ this weekend over Biden award" by Claire Chretien, LifeSiteNews 4/15/16

The student groups Notre Dame Right to Life, the Identity Project of Notre Dame, the Irish Rover student newspaper, Militia of the Immaculata, Jus Vitae, the St. Thomas More Society, and the Catholic Graduate Community are sponsoring the event, during which prayers will be offered “for a greater respect for human life, and especially for Notre Dame's commitment to its Catholic identity and to protecting the sanctity of life at all stages.”

[Bishop Kevin] Rhoades said bestowing the Laetare Award on Biden could “provoke scandal” by giving the impression “that one can be ‘a good Catholic’ while also supporting or advocating for positions that contradict our fundamental moral and social principles and teachings.”

“I also question the propriety of honoring a public official who was a major spokesman for the redefinition of marriage,” Rhoades said. “The Church has continually urged public officials, especially Catholics, of the grave and clear obligation to oppose any law that supports or facilitates abortion or that undermines the authentic meaning of marriage. I disagree with awarding someone for ‘outstanding service to the Church and society’ who has not been faithful to this obligation.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Jenkins defends Laetare Medal decision" by Katie Galioto, The Observer (ND student newspaper) 4/15/16

[University President Fr. John Jenkins said,] “. . . I thought it was an opportunity to recognize people who had risen to the very highest level of political leadership. For their dedication to public service, their willingness to work with others for the common good, we recognize them with the Laetare.”

“I do want, with this award, to fight against the tendency that those who disagree with us are necessarily evil or worthy only of our disdain,” he said. “We can disagree — and even disagree on significant moral issues — and still find laudable qualities in those with whom we disagree.”

“I’m certainly not saying that I support all the Vice President’s positions,” he said. “But I do find, in the record, that he took account of his Catholic faith, even while trying to make decisions on legislation — that’s often complex in a nation on issues on which the nation is deeply divided.”

Ultimately, Jenkins said he thinks a public servant can exemplify what it means to be a Catholic leader, regardless of his or her political affiliation.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Catholic Bishops Warn Voting for Democrats is 'Grave Sin'

From "The Little Sisters vs. Notre Dame" by William McGurn, Wall Street Journal 4/4/16

[The Little Sisters of the Poor were] at Notre Dame to accept an award from the Center for Ethics and Culture for their work upholding the worth and dignity of every human life.

The Little Sisters are front and center in the challenge to the Affordable Care Act mandate that requires them to change their health-care plan to offer employees contraceptives, sterilization procedures and abortion-inducing drugs—all contrary to Catholic teaching. The Little Sisters argue the administration is forcing them to choose between their faith and the loving care they provide men and women too old or too poor to care for themselves.

. . . Not only does Vice President Biden have a long and loud public record in opposition to Catholic teaching on abortion and marriage, he is the second-highest official in an administration that Notre Dame has accused in court of forcing it to “violate its own conscience.”

. . . All in all, it’s a sad message Notre Dame sends: Principles are a fine thing—just don’t let them get in the way of a comfortable place in society.

To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Pope Francis Blasts Liberal 'christians' as Pagans

Notre Dame Rejects Students for Natural Marriage

A new student club, Students for Child-Oriented Policy (SCOP), was denied recognition by Notre Dame's Student Activities Office because it was decided that the university simply didn't need any more advocates for one-man-one-woman marriage who argue against homosexual parenting.

“It’s the new political correctness. In certain Catholic circles, anti-Catholicism is the new cool.  Very often, the same students who scream censorship in nearly every other instance are the ones who would silence those who promote Catholic teachings. Those who advocate difficult teachings are shunned or ridiculed.”
-- Patrick Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society

For background, read Notre Dame Boots Pro-marriage Advocates, Twice and also read Notre Dame Blesses Homosexual Student Organization as well as Notre Dame Pays Students for Homosexual Activism

-- From "Notre Dame won't recognize 'traditional marriage' student club" posted at FoxNews.com 5/20/14

The decision was based on a recommendation by the university’s Club Coordination Council, a division of student government, that found the club’s mission “closely mirrored” that of other undergraduate student clubs at the 12,000-student university.

SCOP, which was founded in January, is comprised of Notre Dame undergraduate and graduate students focused on the debate about marriage in Indiana, where the school is based, according to its Facebook profile, which had 69 members as of Tuesday.

The group seeks to unite a network of students across The Hoosier State in favor of “child-oriented policies,” according to its organizers.

Timothy Bradley, another SCOP member, indicated that the group is undergoing an appeal process in hopes of reversing the decision.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Notre Dame University Refuses to Recognize Pro-Traditional Marriage Student Group" by Michael Gryboski, Christian Post Reporter 5/21/14

Dennis Brown, spokesperson for Notre Dame, told The Christian Post that the rejection was based on SCOP duplicating the mission of other recognized student clubs.

Brown added that Notre Dame already had multiple "religiously affiliated clubs that promote Catholic Church teaching in all ways," which would include the Church's stance in favor of marriage being between one man and one woman.

According to its Facebook group, which has, as of Wednesday, over 120 members . . . "SCOP's overarching concern is that [government] policymakers are failing to approach their task with a view to how those policies will affect children. They seem to conceive of policy only as it will affect the stable, independent adult with resources."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Pro-Marriage Club Denied Official Status at Notre Dame" by Brian Fraga, National Catholic Register 5/19/14

The group — known as Students for Child Oriented Policy (SCOP) — elicited negative letters to the campus newspaper and prompted hundreds of students to sign a petition calling upon the university not to recognize it as an official campus club.

An official in the university’s Student Affairs Office also expressed disapproval of a SCOP petition that called upon Notre Dame President Father John Jenkins and the administration to “make a clear stand” in support of traditional marriage, SCOP members said.

“SCOP is trying to do in public policy about the family exactly what the Church has asked all Catholics to do: namely, to do what it can to make sure that children are raised by their mother and their father and to make this case in the public square on reasonable grounds accessible to anyone who cares to think about the issues,” [Notre Dame law professor, and proposed SCOP faculty adviser, Gerard] Bradley said.

After SCOP was established in January, its first step was to circulate a petition that called upon the university to take a clear public stand in support of the true definition of marriage and to take “serious and sustained action” to improve the public understanding of the natural institution.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Notre Dame Boots Pro-marriage Advocates, Twice

Although a few homosexualists ripped up fliers, virtually everyone was welcoming to the message from the Tradition Family Property Student Action volunteers handing out literature at Notre Dame, except for the campus police who ordered the group to leave.

"It seems like the more you hear about inclusion and diversity in higher education, the less you hear about the truth, the more the truth is shut out of the conversation."
-- John Ritchie, spokesman for TFP Student Action

For background, read Notre Dame Blesses Homosexual Student Organization as well as Notre Dame Pays Students for Homosexual Activism

Also read Catholics Blast Notre Dame for Honoring Barack Obama (the abortion president)

-- From "Notre Dame Orders Removal of Advocates of Traditional Marriage Twice From Campus" by Stephen Adkins, University Herald Reporter 5/2/14

The pro-marriage group was taken out the first time for failing to obtain a proper official permission. Notre Dame's Student Activities Office apologized for the mix-up and asked them to install their table again the following day. Despite obtaining approval through an officially recognized on-campus student group, police officials handed a "cease and desist" order to the conservative group.

"Notre Dame police officers told us that we only had proper permission to have a table - but that nobody was allowed to actually man the table, which was the whole point of having a table in the first place. How can a table man itself? So we were forced to leave," John Ritchie, spokesman for TFP Student Action, said in a statement.

Ritchie said that police officers arrived soon after volunteers started distributing pro-family literature, 10 Reasons Why Same-Sex "Marriage" is Harmful and Must Be Opposed.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Traditional Marriage Group Accuses Notre Dame of Censorship" by Michael Gryboski, Christian Post Reporter 5/1/14

"Working with the Orestes Brownson Council, a Catholic student club on campus, a table was reserved outside DeBartolo Hall on April 24," said Ritchie.

[Notre Dame spokesman Dennis] Brown explained that the student group Orestes Brownson Council is recognized and had gotten permission to have a pro-traditional marriage display.

"Our policies explicitly state that only members of the university community may organize or lead such events on campus," said Brown.

"When university officials learned that, contrary to our policies, the student group made this request on behalf of an outside organization, TFP Student Action, we asked that its members leave."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Obama Administration Muzzles College Students' Moral Speech

Notre Dame Blesses Homosexual Student Organization

Click here for local news report: WSBT-TV2 South Bend

Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of the Fort Wayne-South Bend Catholic Diocese is very supportive of the University of Notre Dame's new effort to “expand and enhance the support and services for students who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and questioning (GLBTQ),” after years of demands from students for recognition of a gay-straight student alliance club to advocate for "gay rights" in opposition to Church doctrine.

For background, read Notre Dame Pays Students for Homosexual Activism and also read Catholic Loyola Univ. OKs Homosexual Student Advocacy

Also read Gay Clubs Required in Schools, Says White House as well as Gay Recruitment of Kids: Senators Join Obama

-- From "Notre Dame makes changes in support, service for GLBTQ students" by Margaret Fosmoe, South Bend Tribune 12/5/12

"This is very good news," said Alex Coccia, co-president of the Progressive Student Alliance, the student activists' group that has been leading the effort. "The university is recognizing a student organization. It's going to provide the peer-to-peer support that is needed."

The changes announced are part of a comprehensive pastoral plan that includes an array of initiatives based on Notre Dame's Catholic mission, the university announced. The plan, titled "Beloved Friends and Allies: A Pastoral Plan for the Support and Holistic Development of GLBTQ and Heterosexual Students at the University of Notre Dame," was developed by the university's Student Affairs staff. The university announcement states the plan follows a study of Catholic doctrine and teaching, listening sessions with students, and an examination of student clubs and structures at other Catholic universities.

Karl Abad, an openly gay Notre Dame senior . . . [said] "Students here are ready for a change, but the climate didn't encourage open discussion."

Abad said he was involved in the talks in recent months with administrators that led to approval for the student organization. He praised the efforts of Erin Hoffmann Harding, who in August became Notre Dame's vice president for student affairs, for moving the discussions forward. "Throughout this process, she's been in constant dialogue with other administrators and knows what students need," he said.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "'The next step'" by John Cameron, The (Notre Dame) Observer 12/5/12

Though this is a historic decision in Notre Dame’s efforts to better serve a diverse student body, University President Fr. John Jenkins said the plan for the unnamed student organization is a natural progression of previous initiatives.

“In the 1990s, as I said, we created the Standing Committee [on Gay and Lesbian Student Needs]. In 2006, that was changed to the Core Council [for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Questioning Students], and various initiatives were undertaken in conjunction with those efforts,” he said. “I see this as the next step to be more effective.”

“The comprehensiveness of this not only being about the organization is a very important element to the entire thing because of the education, because of the awareness, because of the support and interaction with other University offices, we think this is a plan that we believe and hope will be much more than about one organization,” [Erin Hoffmann Harding] said.

While Jenkins said expanding the diversity at Notre Dame is part of the administration’s duties, he said the responsibility does not end at the steps of the Main Building.

“Diversity isn’t just about having a bunch of different people all in the same place. It really is about building a community,” he said.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Bishop Rhoades hopeful about Notre Dame's new student organization" posted at Catholic News Agency 12/7/12

Bishop Rhoades wrote that with the plan, Notre Dame “clearly affirms its fidelity to Catholic Church teaching on human sexuality” and affirms “the teachings of the Church on the commandment and vocation of love, the virtue of chastity and its expression in friendship, the importance of self-mastery, and the call to holiness.”

The foundations section of the plan cites the need to pursue “human solidarity and the common good” and says that “all must learn to govern their passions in disciplined ways on the road to lasting freedom.”

Bishop Rhoades reflected that the plan “affirms Catholic teaching that men and women who have homosexual tendencies 'must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity.'”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Notre Dame introduces gay-straight allies group" by Cardinal Newman Society 12/7/12

“I think if people look carefully at what we’re doing and really, in a thoughtful way, evaluate it, I think thoughtful people will see that this makes sense,” reportedly said Fr. Jenkins. “It makes sense for a Catholic university like Notre Dame to provide such structures to serve their students effectively.”

. . . although the plan describes the student organization as acting consistent with Catholic teaching, Fr. Jenkins seemed to indicate some doubt about how closely it will be regulated . . .

Moreover, at least one Vatican official has expressed reservations about a Catholic college organizing any student activity centered on homosexuality. In 1992 Cardinal Pio Laghi, then-Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, opposed a homosexual club at Seattle University: “At a Catholic university, support can be given only to Catholic teaching on homosexuality and Catholic pastoral practice to help homosexual persons morally, ascetically, and spiritually…The university’s responsibilities towards homosexual persons, doctrinally and pastorally, should find their expression in courses in Catholic theology.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Catholic Notre Dame announces services for gay students" by Moni Basu, CNN 12/7/12

[Lesbian student Mia] Lillis said the actions were huge for a school that has not been welcoming to gay students and has often found itself atop national lists of gay-unfriendly schools. Too bad, she said, because she found the students to be accepting of her. But they had not been afforded the channels to vocalize their thoughts. The climate was one of silence on gay issues.

[Student] Alex Coccia, who helped spearhead the student effort to change things at Notre Dame, said a new environment will be especially a big deal for questioning students.

[However,] The Sycamore Trust, which says its goal is to protect the Catholic identity of Notre Dame, expressed concern on its website, saying the university's support of a gay club "would give grave scandal damaging to the church, to the university, to students, and to other Catholic institutions and would establish a potential source of serious mischief within the school."

It went on to say, "Surely it is predictable that a group whose organizing principle is same-sex attraction is likely to be a forum, overt or covert, for opposition to the Church’s teachings about homosexuality. It may also become an instrumentality in the student 'hookup' culture."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Majority of Catholic colleges host pro-homosexual groups: survey" by Johanna Dasteel, LifeSiteNews.com 11/20/12

A survey by TFP Student Action has found pro-homosexual student clubs at 111 out of the 211 schools listed by the most comprehensive reference material available, “Ganley’s Catholic Schools in America,” published by Fisher Publishing Company.  TFP’s comprehensive list with corresponding clubs includes links to school websites and club descriptions.

TFP claims that many of the mentioned clubs act as platforms of Catholic dissent, advancing the idea of same-sex “marriage”, the acceptance of homosexual lifestyles, gender confusion, and the rejection of Catholic teaching.

In a press release announcing their survey, TFP Student Action quoted from a 2008 address of Pope Benedict XVI to Catholic educators at the Catholic University of America.

“Teachers and administrators, whether in universities or schools, have the duty and privilege to ensure that students receive instruction in Catholic doctrine and practice,” said the pope. “This requires that public witness to the way of Christ, as found in the Gospel and upheld by the Church’s Magisterium, shapes all aspects of an institution’s life, both inside and outside the classroom. Divergence from this vision weakens Catholic identity and, far from advancing freedom, inevitably leads to confusion, whether moral, intellectual or spiritual.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Notre Dame Pays Students for Homosexual Activism

A surprise decision by the University of Notre Dame to send five students to last weekend's gay rights march in the District has produced fury among alumni still smarting from the Catholic institution's invitation to President Obama in May.

-- From "Notre Dame feels political heat again" by Julia Duin, Washington Times 10/16/09

Five students belonging to the school's Progressive Student Alliance were given an undetermined amount from the university's student activities fund - from fees assessed to students - to drive to Washington, bunk with friends and participate in the National Equality March last Sunday. Thousands of participants marched from the White House to the Capitol to support gay rights.

Since the news broke Tuesday in the Observer, the student newspaper, comments and postings about the school's sponsorship of the trip have ricocheted on Catholic blogs and some gay outlets.

The Roman Catholic Church has taken one of the strictest stands against homosexual acts of any Christian denomination, calling such acts sinful and homosexual desires "disordered." The church's stance has been reiterated repeatedly under the present Pope Benedict XVI, during whose reign the Vatican has prohibited any priesthood candidate who has "present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or supports the so-called 'gay culture'" to enroll in seminary.

[Notre Dame has] a Core Council for Gay and Lesbian Students consisting of eight undergrads, the majority of whom are gay, and four administrators from the school's student affairs division. . . .

The school's campus ministry office also has an annual retreat for gay students, organizes a "solidarity Sunday" each fall to pray for "increased inclusion of all members of the church" and maintains a room of gay/lesbian reference materials.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

Obama at Notre Dame Spotlights Catholic Apostasy Issues

The protests over the University of Notre Dame's commencement invitation to President Barack Obama will have an impact beyond the South Bend campus and far longer than graduation season.

Also read Obama at Notre Dame: Video the Media Didn't Show You

-- From "Catholic colleges may feel brunt of Notre Dame uproar" by Rachel Zoll, Associated Press Religion Writer 5/24/09

While the drubbing focused on the nation's most prestigious Roman Catholic school, the criticism also served as a warning to all Catholic colleges and universities about the potential for opposition to their own policies [such as Loyola, Georgetown . . .].

"This is an impact that is likely to be felt for some period of time," said Richard Yanikoski, president of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, which is based in Washington and represents more than 200 U.S. schools. "It's certainly — but one doesn't know exactly how — helping to shape public perception."

Tensions have erupted regularly among the schools, bishops and Catholic activists since 1967, when Catholic academics released the "Land O'Lakes Statement on the Nature of the Contemporary Catholic University." The leaders affirmed the colleges' role of serving the church, but declared some autonomy from the Catholic hierarchy, so that the schools could be guided by professional leadership, not just the religious orders that created them.

As a result, the nation's most prominent Catholic lawmakers who support legalized abortion in any way often find themselves without an invitation to a Catholic college graduation.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

Obama at Notre Dame: Video the Media Didn't Show You

View the video of the two-mile pro-life demonstration along the main drag leading to campus, and compare it to the liberal media account.

Video courtesy Jill Stanek


-- From "At Notre Dame, Obama Calls for Civil Tone in Abortion Debate" by Peter Baker And Susan Saulny, New York Times 5/18/09

As anti-abortion demonstrators protested outside and a few hecklers shouted inside, Mr. Obama used a commencement address at the University of Notre Dame to call for more “open hearts, open minds, fair-minded words” in a debate that has polarized the country for decades. The audience at this Roman Catholic institution cheered his message and drowned out protesters, some of whom called him a “baby killer.”

While several hundred people attended an anti-abortion Mass, about 100 abortion opponents demonstrated against the president’s visit at the edge of campus, shouting back and forth with a smaller number of abortion rights demonstrators.

As Mr. Obama departed, his motorcade passed a few dozen protesters shouting at an intersection and holding signs that showed fetuses and said things like “Notre Dame spiritually sold out.” Others approaching campus for the ceremony were likewise greeted by photographs of mangled fetuses.

With mortarboard in hand, Robert Kessler, 22, a graduating senior, wandered among the protesters and shook his head. “Some of these pictures are grotesque, and I don’t want them to be part of my graduation,” Mr. Kessler said. “If these groups wanted to make a difference, they could have better used their money on homes for unwed mothers.”

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

Archbishop Slams Obama For Anti-Life, Anti-Family Agenda

Archbishop Raymond Burke, the prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the highest court in the Roman Catholic Church . . . [said] that no matter what good positions a politician may hold on other issues it is never justified to vote for him if he supports abortion, euthanasia or same-sex marriage.

-- From "Archbishop slams Obama for anti-life, anti-family agenda, also slams Sebelius and Notre Dame" by Bill Dalton, Kansas City Star 5/8/09

The American bishop who heads the Vatican’s supreme court slammed President Obama today for pursuing an “anti-life and anti-family agenda” and called the University of Notre Dame’s plans to honor him this month “the greatest scandal.”

At the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast on Friday, Burke garnered frequent applause for castigating Notre Dame, Obama, and Catholics who stray from the church’s social teachings.

Dozens of Catholic bishops have criticized Notre Dame, the nation’s top Catholic university, for inviting Obama to deliver its commencement address on May 17, and planning to grant him the degree customarily given to graduation speakers.

Burke also denounced a number of early moves by the White House, including . . . research on certain types of embryonic stem cells, as well as preparing to roll back some conscience protections for health care workers.

Burke also criticized Catholics who support or work for the Obama administration, particularly new cabinet member Kathleen Sebelius.

Sebelius did not attend the annual Catholic prayer breakfast, nor did Vice President Joe Biden, who is Catholic, or any Catholic member of Obama’s cabinet.

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia also delivered remarks on Friday, and urged fellow Catholics not to be ashamed of their theological beliefs amid a largely secular culture.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "No Other Issues Can Justify Voting for Pro-Abortion, Pro-Euthanasia, or Pro-Same-Sex Marriage Politicians, Says Vatican’s Top Judicial Official" by Terence P. Jeffrey, Editor-in-Chief CNSNews.com 5/11/09

“In a nation set so firmly on a path of violation of the most fundamental moral norms, Catholics and others who adhere to the natural moral law are pressured to think that their religious commitment to the moral law as the way of seeking the good of all is a merely confessional matter which cannot have any application in public life,” Burke told a crowd gathered at the Hilton Washington.

“Apparently, a number of Catholics in public life have been so convinced,” he continued.

“How often do we hear Catholic legislators who vote in favor of anti-life and anti-family legislation claim that they are personally opposed to what the legislation protects and fosters, but that they as public officials may not allow religious beliefs to affect their support of such legislation?” he asked.

“How often do we hear fellow Catholics supporting candidates for office, who are anti-life and anti-family, because of political-party loyalties or for reasons of other policies and programs supported by the candidate, which they deem to be good?” he continued.

To read the full text of Archbishop Burke's keynote address, CLICK HERE.

Catholics Blast Notre Dame for Honoring Obama

President Obama, as the commencement speaker at the University of Notre Dame, has been declared "an outrage and a scandal . . . that directly contradict fundamental Catholic teachings on life and marriage."

UPDATE 5/28/09: Obama at Notre Dame Spotlights Catholic Apostasy Issues

UPDATE 4/01/09: Cardinal George says ‘Notre Dame Didn't Understand What It Means to Be Catholic’
UPDATE 3/30/09: Cardinal Daniel DiNardo joins updated chorus denouncing the Obama invitation
UPDATE 3/27/09: Phoenix Bishop Blasts Notre Dame

-- From "Notre Dame sticking with Obama for commencement" Associated Press 3/23/09

The University of Notre Dame is sticking with its invitation to President Obama to speak at its May 17 commencement despite criticism from some Roman Catholics that his views on abortion and stem cell research run counter to Catholic teachings.

"I don't foresee a circumstance in which we would rescind the invitation," Notre Dame spokesman Dennis Brown told The Associated Press in an e-mail message Monday.

The Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame's president, issued a statement Monday saying the invitation did not mean the university supports all of Obama's positions.

The nation's bishops have warned Catholic colleges and universities against honoring lawmakers who dissent from church teaching on major moral concerns such as abortion. It's a thorny issue for the schools, which have long struggled to balance their Catholic identity with academic freedom and a desire to place themselves at the center of American life.

Asked about the volume of complaints to the university, Brown said it was "nothing beyond what we anticipated."

Obama will be the ninth U.S. president to receive an honorary degree from Notre Dame.

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Below are excerpts from the petition being circulated by the Cardinal Newman Society

This nation has many thousands of accomplished leaders in the Catholic Church, in business, in law, in education, in politics, in medicine, in social services, and in many other fields who would be far more appropriate choices to receive such an honor from the University of Notre Dame [than Barack Obama.]

Instead Notre Dame has chosen prestige over principles, popularity over morality. Whatever may be President Obama’s admirable qualities, this honor comes on the heels of some of the most anti-life actions of any American president, including expanding federal funding for abortions and inviting taxpayer-funded research on stem cells from human embryos.

The honor also comes amid great concern among Catholics nationwide about President Obama’s future impact on American society, the family, and the Catholic Church on issues such as traditional marriage, conscience protections for Catholic doctors and nurses, and expansion of abortion “rights.”

This honor is clearly a direct violation of the U.S. bishops’ 2004 mandate in “Catholics in Political Life”: “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.”

Study Reveals Religious Americans are Generous

A new study shows that people of faith in America have a huge heart in terms of giving to Third World countries

From "Religious Americans are Generous" by Charlie Butts, posted5/16/08 at OneNewsNow.com

Carol Adelman of the Hudson Institute cites the information in a study done with Notre Dame University. "We didn't realize it would be as large as it was, and we came out with a number of $8.8 billion worth of goods and services that churches are giving overseas to developing countries," she points out.

That figure represents nearly 40 percent of the foreign aid provided by the United States to the same region -- and the money from churches is apparently doing a lot of good, says Adelman.

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