Open Letter: Dr. Janet Smith to Fr. Jenkins

Dr. Janet E. Smith is the Fr. Michael J. McGivney Chair of Life Ethics at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. She has granted permission for her letter to Fr. John Jenkins, President of Notre Dame, to be published:

"Dear Fr. Jenkins - Let me add my voice to those who are profoundly disappointed at the choice of President Obama as the commencement speaker.

The Notre Alumni Association has been putting out this statement [full text here]:

“The University does not support the President’s positions on specific issues regarding the protection of human life, including abortion and embryonic stem cell research. Our positions on these issues are firm and unwavering. The invitation to President Obama to be the Commencement speaker shouldn’t be taken as condoning or endorsing his positions that contradict the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Rather, the University has invited the President to campus for what he’s done for racial equality, and for his stands on poverty, immigration, education, infectious disease, and seeking peace. These are causes dear to the heart of Notre Dame, and he has elevated these causes and made them his own.”

Father, I know that if someone like George Wallace had been elected president of the United States, no matter how much good he had done – no matter how many causes “near to Notre Dame’s heart” he had elevated, Notre Dame would not have invited him to be the commencement speaker nor given him an honorary degree. The world would not have believed that Notre Dame remained “firm and unwavering” in its opposition to racism. It would not have thought that Notre Dame was hoping to spark a national dialogue on racism. It would have thought Notre Dame had lost its mind and faith.

It truly is a scandal that Notre Dame has decided to honor President Obama. There is no reason that Catholics should believe that we can look to Notre Dame for leadership on the most controversial issues of the day, issues that involve the yearly killing of millions of the innocent. It is such a shame."