| Mary Ann Glendon Turns Down Notre Dame Honor
Aristophones posted this on another thread.
Dear Father Jenkins,
When you informed me in December 2008 that I had been selected to
receive Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal, I was profoundly moved. I treasure
the memory of receiving an honorary degree from Notre Dame in 1996, and
I have always felt honored that the commencement speech I gave that year
was included in the anthology of Notre Dame’s most memorable
commencement speeches. So I immediately began working on an acceptance
speech that I hoped would be worthy of the occasion, of the honor of the
medal, and of your students and faculty.
Last month, when you called to tell me that the commencement speech was
to be given by President Obama, I mentioned to you that I would have to
rewrite my speech. Over the ensuing weeks, the task that once seemed so
delightful has been complicated by a number of factors.
First, as a longtime consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops, I could not help but be dismayed by the news that Notre Dame
also planned to award the president an honorary degree. This, as you
must know, was in disregard of the U.S. bishops’ express request of
2004 that Catholic institutions “should not honor those who act in
defiance of our fundamental moral principles” and that such persons
“should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would
suggest support for their actions.” That request, which in no way
seeks to control or interfere with an institution’s freedom to invite
and engage in serious debate with whomever it wishes, seems to me so
reasonable that I am at a loss to understand why a Catholic university
should disrespect it.
Then I learned that “talking points” issued by Notre Dame in
response to widespread criticism of its decision included two statements
implying that my acceptance speech would somehow balance the event:
● “President Obama won’t be doing all the talking. Mary Ann
Glendon, the former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, will be speaking as
the recipient of the Laetare Medal.”
● “We think having the president come to Notre Dame, see our
graduates, meet our leaders, and hear a talk from Mary Ann Glendon is a
good thing for the president and for the causes we care about.”
A commencement, however, is supposed to be a joyous day for the
graduates and their families. It is not the right place, nor is a brief
acceptance speech the right vehicle, for engagement with the very
serious problems raised by Notre Dame’s decision-in disregard of the
settled position of the U.S. bishops-to honor a prominent and
uncompromising opponent of the Church’s position on issues involving
fundamental principles of justice.
Finally, with recent news reports that other Catholic schools are
similarly choosing to disregard the bishops’ guidelines, I am
concerned that Notre Dame’s example could have an unfortunate ripple
effect.
It is with great sadness, therefore, that I have concluded that I
cannot accept the Laetare Medal or participate in the May 17 graduation
ceremony.
In order to avoid the inevitable speculation about the reasons for my
decision, I will release this letter to the press, but I do not plan to
make any further comment on the matter at this time.
Yours Very Truly,
Mary Ann Glendon
Mary Ann Glendon is Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard Law
School. A member of the editorial and advisory board of First Things,
she served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican from 2007 to 2009.
| 
![bbtitle]](/images/misc/cc_logo.gif){kind=logo}
