South Bend, Ind., Mar 26, 2009 / 18:01 pm
Notre Dame’s invitation to President Barack Obama is "in opposition to what lies at the foundation of this University," says ND Response, a consortium of 11 different student groups.
According to a statement released by the group yesterday, its members received word of the commencement speech invitation to President Obama with "deepest opposition."
ND Response, which includes groups as diverse as Notre Dame Law’s St Thomas More Society and Notre Dame’s Right to Life group, claimed opposition based upon "President Obama’s hostility to the Catholic Church’s teachings on the sanctity of human life at its earliest stages" further saying that Obama’s early pro-abortion decisions will "directly result in the deaths of thousands of innocent human beings."
ND Response spokesman, Chris Labadie, a senior majoring in theology, told CNA on Thursday that the group was inundated with emails and calls over the weekend seeking some type of response. Instead of answering requests individually, the leaders of the 11 groups came together to create a unified response.