Catholic Bishops: D'Arcy handled the Obama and Notre Dame incident right

By William Wan

A month after the messy dust-up over the University of Notre Dame's honoring President Obama, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued its official stance.

The bishops who met in San Antonio issued a statement this afternoon supporting Bishop John D'Arcy and his handling of the incident. D'Arcy, whose Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind. diocese includes Notre Dame, strongly criticized the university and ended up boycotting Obama's commencement speech.

While the incident wasn't on the initial agenda for the conference, the bishops discussed it in an executive session.

Their short statement reads:

"The bishops of the United States express our appreciation and support for our brother bishop, the Most Reverend John D'Arcy. We affirm his pastoral concern for Notre Dame University, his solicitude for its Catholic identity, and his loving care for all those the Lord has given him to sanctify, to teach and to shepherd."

The flap among Catholics over Obama's appearance at Notre Dame's commencement embarrassed the USCCB and further revealed divisions in the American Catholic church over abortion. The split is between "social justice" Catholics who believe that the church should emphasize more than opposition to abortion when it comes to societal issues, and those who believe that abortion should take primacy.

By William Wan  |  June 22, 2009; 4:27 PM ET  | Category:  God in Government Save & Share:                 
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