Yes We Can Stop Abortion
By Tammy Bundy
author, EWTN commentator
Even after the words of President Obama's speech to the graduates of Notre Dame have been uttered and political pundits pick apart every insinuation of his oration, there is still misunderstanding over what caused the controversy.
It is not that Catholics have something against the speeches of President Obama. We can and do acknowledge that the man can and does give motivating talks that have the power to make people stand up in agreement even when they may not know exactly what it is they are agreeing to.
And that's part of the problem. Truth be told, the commencement controversy is made worse by the fact that some of us in the Church are still deeply disappointed by the fact that the majority of Catholics voted for Obama. In spite of his extreme record on life issues such as abortion and embryonic stem cells, which our faith tells us need to be respected above all other issues, 54% of Catholics voted for Obama.
So when a prestigious Catholic university like Notre Dame announces they will bestow an honorary degree upon the man who, in his first 100 days of presidency, has signed two bills that fly in the face of the life beliefs we hold dear, we question Notre Dame's decision. But what is more, this invitation painfully reminds us of the majority of Catholics who six months ago traded in these important issues for a vague promise of change.
During the campaign, so many Catholics jumped on the bandwagon of change and hope --- becoming hopelessly enamored with both the message and the messenger, perhaps not even fully aware of what exactly they were supporting ---and what exactly they were not supporting.
One moment during President Obama's speech to the graduates of Notre Dame embodied this notion the most. At one point, the president was interrupted by hecklers that were hard to hear at first. Impassioned, and in an effort to show support to the president, many of the graduates began chanting the very line they chanted a few months earlier upon originally climbing on that bandwagon. "Yes, we can! Yes, we can!" came the chants trickling through the stadium.
It turns out the hecklers were shouting, "Stop killing our babies!"
So for one minute during the controversial graduation commencement, there was a chorus of "Stop killing our babies!" coupled with the affirmation, "Yes we can!"
And that would be a beautiful note of hope--- having hundreds of enthusiastic and intelligent Notre Dame grads shouting in unison that they know they have the power to stop the killing. Unfortunately, like so many other well educated, well intentioned people before them, I'm afraid they were simply chanting a catch phase without understanding the bigger picture.
Tammy Bundy is a high school English teacher, mother of four, columnist, and the author of several inspirational books. Her columns can be heard across the country through EWTN global Catholic radio.
By Tammy Bundy |
May 18, 2009; 9:08 AM ET
Share: Email a Friend |
Technorati
| Del.icio.us | Digg | Facebook
Previous: Rabbis Question "Unprecedented Prosecution" |
Next: Choosing Tylenol and God
Posted by: Farnaz1Mansouri1 | May 19, 2009 12:33 AM
Report Offensive Comment
T. Bundy might benefit from reading more on CCNL's thinking:
C.Christian Nut-Louse. The New in the New Testament. Antarctica: Antarctic UP, 1957.
Available in Deep Drifts Antarctica. Starting at $1.29 (ending at $1.34)
Contains information on rites, rituals, holidays, why African American Presidents should not speak at Notre Dame, etc., based on the Nut-Lousian reading.
Posted by: Farnaz1Mansouri1 | May 19, 2009 12:32 AM
Report Offensive Comment
More noisy nuisances are the religious cults with all their strange and flawed beliefs.
e.g. Members of the Baha'ists, Aum Shinrikyo, Peoples Temple, , Heaven's Gate, Order of the Solar Temple, Church of Scientology and Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God.
Posted by: CCNL | May 18, 2009 11:39 PM
Report Offensive Comment
There does reach a level at which idiocy peaks, and it is time to call it a day.
I, for one, am tired of these right-wing Catholics. This is a secular country, and if some among them, wish to impose their laws on the rest of us, it is high time for them to relocate.
The narcissism and irony in Bundy's piece are risible. The President was asked to deliver a commencement address at Notre Dame, which is partly funded by taxpayer dollars, btw., and deliver it he did. He was not asked to read a position paper on the choice/abortion issue.
Catholics are advised to get over it. You are embarrassing many of your co-religionists and annoying the rest of us.
I don't see you protesting the RCC's opposition to condom use in Africa, where many are starving, and dying of AIDs.
I don't see you demanding that Vatican Bank settle with the descendants of thousands of Jews, Serbiann Orthodox, and Roma, from which 200 Croat Priests, RCC Priests, stole everything, after cutting them into pieces with scissors in the concentration camps said RCC priests ran. Said RCC priests depostited the Bloody Money in Vatican Bank, while Saint Pacelli looked on. The money is still their.
I don't see you demanding the release of the Vatican archives on its Holocaust activities, a release that Jews, Christian ORthodox, Protestants, and Roman Catholics have been awaiting for fifty-four years.
I don't see you screaming about the death penalty, poverty in America, lack of health care.
Give it a rest. You are a noisy nuisance.
Posted by: Farnaz1Mansouri1 | May 18, 2009 11:28 PM
Report Offensive Comment
Oh Fred, you hopeless sap. Intelligent people do support Barack Obama, are in favor of abortion, and so on. But please-- that speech is not what you make it out to be.
It was, as always, a masterful job--but go and read the text. It is a collection of various Catholic Social Justice buzzwords and key phrases--avoiding the central issue.
What is interesting is to compare this speech with the ridicule Obama heaped on pro-lifers in his 2007 speech before Planned Parenthood.
Posted by: beckychr007 | May 18, 2009 2:47 PM
Report Offensive Comment
The False Faithiness and Rhetorical Religousity of Catholics never fail to amaze. By discourging the use and distribution of condoms in Aids Plagued Africa, Catholic leadership has contributed to more child deaths than Pres. Obama's plea to work togther to make safe and legal abortion a little needed option.
You're a sick bunch. If either religion had a shred of truth in it, I'd have to choose Satan worship over Catholisism. At least its not choking on its own hypocracy.
Posted by: ender2 | May 18, 2009 12:26 PM
Report Offensive Comment
Without doubting Tammy Bundy's sincerity, I believe she may have failed to appreciate a central point of President Obama's call for common ground - that certitude in the righteousness of one's cause does not guarantee being right, nor does it guarantee that those who disagree are necessarily misguided. I was genuinely moved by the President's call to seek common ground with critics so as to make progress in those areas where different sides can agree on common goals. What struck me about this speech, however, in addition to some of the powerful personal reminiscences, was that it seemed less aimed at changing minds than in increasing the level of comfort that others, particularly Catholics, will feel with his leadership, even as they may disagree on specific issues.
In making his point, the President also proved how extraordinarily gifted he is as a politician (not meant in a pejorative sense), in that he instinctively understands how to use attacks against him as a means of promoting his positions. In particular, he recognizes the advantage of having adversaries who come across as angry and condemnatory, because it permits him to offer his audience the alternative - someone who strives to be reasonable and respectful, and who eschews name-calling in favor of dialog. In that contrast, the one who offers respect and reason will always do better than the angry adversary in appealing for public support. The public does not respond favorably to individuals who seem to be perpetually angry, and it is Obama's good fortune to be blessed with a personality naturally inclined to find areas of agreement among those who disagree.
Like the President, I do hope the area of common ground regarding abortion can be expanded. As he acknowledged, not all differences can be bridged, but because most Americans adhere to a moderate stance on abortion - that it is never desirable but sometimes acceptable - this commonality would allow all of us to work together to reduce the demand for abortions, as well as to pursue many other goals that would provide a better life for our society.
I support him in that endeavor.
Fred Moolten
Posted by: fmoolten | May 18, 2009 11:42 AM
Report Offensive Comment
There were also 35 million dead babies crying in anguish during the speech. If you listened closely you could hear:
THOU SHALT NOT KILL!!! followed by PLEASE REMEMBER US!!!!
Posted by: CCNL | May 18, 2009 10:46 AM
Report Offensive Comment
It is the epitome of ignorance to use a commencement exercise to espouse a political agenda. It is ignorance on steroids when you know ahead of time that your agenda is in direct opposition to those who extended you the invitation to speak.
Why should we expect high class behavior from such a low class person; President or not.
Posted by: Bcamp55 | May 18, 2009 10:07 AM
Report Offensive Comment












The web is an excellent source of information on the famous C.Christian
Nut-Lousian question:
WWHD?
What Would Hitler Do?