Notre Dame Graduating Seniors Pray for Obama Ahead of Commencement

• E-mail
• Print
• RSS
• digg Facebook Twitter Stumble Reddit del.ico.us Buzz Share
• Text

Anti-abortion students at the University of Notre Dame held an all-night prayer vigil to protest the school’s decision to invite President Obama to deliver Sunday’s commencement address.

Led by the Rev. John D'Arcy, bishop of the Fort Wayne-South Bend diocese, the candlelight prayer vigil was held for graduating seniors and their families to pray for three things: that Obama will change his support of abortion rights and embryonic stem-cell research, that people throughout the world gain a greater respect for life and that Notre Dame and other Roman Catholic universities will more fully embrace their Catholic identity.

"It's not a political issue; this is an issue of human dignity, and it's a Catholic issue," said Greer Hannan, a Notre Dame graduating senior. "As a Catholic university, we need to stand up for it."

Many Notre Dame seniors have decided not to attend their commencement ceremony in protest of the university's decision to grant Obama an honorary law degree and will instead hold a meditation ceremony to coincide with the official commencement

In addition to the meditation ceremony, a large rally will be held on the campus' main quad between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., with a number of speakers lined up, including Elizabeth Naquin Border, Notre Dame graduate and former chairman of the board for the Women's Care Centers in South Bend; William Solomon, director of the university's Center for Ethics and Culture; and Chris Godfrey, a Notre Dame law school graduate and former offensive guard for the Super Bowl XXI champion New York Giants.

Earlier Saturday, more than 150 protesters gathered on the campus of America’s foremost Roman Catholic university as graduation festivities got underway.

Shortly after noon, 23 protesters marched on to campus. Nineteen were arrested on trespassing charges and four also faced a charge of resisting law enforcement, said Sgt. Bill Redman, St. Joseph County Police Department spokesman.

None of those arrested Saturday were students, Brown said.

On Sunday, at 2 p.m., Obama will be the principal speaker and the recipient of an honorary doctor of laws degree at the University of Notre Dame’s 164th University Commencement Ceremony in the Joyce Center on campus.

Obama will be the ninth U.S. President to be awarded an honorary degree by the University and the sixth to be the Commencement speaker.

• Christians Urged Not to Abandon Conscience; Proclaim the Gospel

• God Shows Up in Vampire Novel

• Obama: Stupak Abortion Language Not Balanced

• Vatican Researcher Claims to Have Found Text on Shroud of Turin

• Pro-Life Movie Starring Rebecca St. James Hits Stores

• Ministry Distributes 'Origin of Species' with Intelligent Design Intro

• U.S. Christian Leaders to Issue Call to Defend Truth

• Pastors Test Expanded Hate Crimes Law 335

• Darwin Was Wrong, Scientists Argue 186

• D.C. Board Rejects Ballot Initiative on Gay Marriage 172

• Ministry Distributes 'Origin of Species' with Intelligent Design Intro 56

• On Faith: Religious Belief and the Military 41

• ELCA Head Reports 'Painful Days' 37

• Disaffected Lutherans Begin Work on Alternate Church Body 28

• Living Faith Out Loud: Capturing Authentic Christians on Film in THE BLIND SIDE

• Wonder Drug

• Should Your Family Served God in the Mission Field?...Taking Christianity Into the World

• Code Red--Vote Tomorrow

• Can you rebuild trust after a marriage is shattered by infidelity?

• Putting Real Christians on the Screen: An Interview with THE BLIND SIDE director John Lee Hancock

• Feeding the Homeless on Thanksgiving Day 2009...Taking Christianity Into the World