All that is needed for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.

Father Jenkins of Notre Dame has been unwilling so far to take gentle guidance from his diocesan bishop. However, Bishop D’Arcy recently retired and Bishop Rhoades has been named to replace him. Not even sure if he’s installed yet. I know the Pope spoke strongly during his visit here about the character of Catholic universities, and I know that Archbishop Burke, who is part of the committee to appoint bishops, is adamant about Catholic identity. I have high hopes that the magisterium has placed a forceful bishop into Fort Wayne/South Bend, and that once he’s settled in we may see changes at Notre Dame.

but to start taking back ceded ground. I had not realized until last spring, with Obama as speaker at Notre Dame’s commencement, how secular almost all of the Catholic universities and colleges had become. I think there are many other Christian founded schools that are centuries old, which have experienced the same thing.

“Winning” a game, only to lose one’s soul, renders that win meaningless in the long run.

Aside from being the bishop who converted Augustine to Christianity, St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan, most courageously excommunicated the powerful Catholic Emperor Theodosius I for a massacre of innocent civilians in Thessalonica. He literally stood at the doors of the cathedral and blocked the emperor’s entrance. Theodosius responded – to everyone’s surprise – not by prosecuting and executing Ambrose for treason, but by repenting and doing some serious acts of penance before returning to the sacraments.

A word of warning to any non-Catholics who may be considering the writings of the first and second century “Early Church Fathers” like Clement of Rome, Mathetes, Polycarp, Ignatius, Barnabas, Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, or Ambrose… to become familiar with these writings is to become Catholic.

I wrote to Fr. Jenkins and signed the petition to withdraw Obama’s invitation to speak at ND, to no avail. I also wrote to my parish priest and expressed my frustrations with the Church and the failure to stop this charade. I got a “you should lighten up” response.

Eight of my nieces and nephews attend the Catholic school in a D.C. suburb which I and my many siblings attended in the 60s and 70s. It was a middle-class neighborhood back then but is a very affluent, upscale area now. Lots of late-model SUVs and BMWs in the parking lot now (my mom’s dented Pontiac station wagon would never blend.) Recently the principal there sent a broadcast cell phone message to school families explaining how important it was to tune in to “President Obama’s Inspiring Speech on Education.” She continues to remind the children to honor Dear Leader Obama on a regular basis. The pastor says nothing.

what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself”.

I agree wholeheartedly with you.

The problem lies in two specific documents, however, that have directly cast the American Catholic education system into direct conflict with Rome.

The first is the Land O’Lakes statement of 1967 in which the heads of Catholic universities (in the so-called “Spirit of Vatican II and academic freedom”) essentially committed to the position that any Catholic school head can and should be able to tell his/her local bishop to get stuffed. In clear violation of canon law (teaching authority of the bishops and the Magisterium), these administrators destroyed the authentic Catholic identity of American Catholic Universities (including Notre Dame).

Pope John Paul II responded to this during his papacy in Ex Corde Ecclesiae (1990). Ex Corde says, in effect, that Land O’Lakes has no basis in Catholic tradition, doctrine, or canon law. In theory any Catholic administrator pulling this kind of garbage should be removed by his local bishop, but the bishops have been very, very gun-shy about invoking this given that it would result in a massive legal battle.

The best hope for Catholic parents is to check out some of the college guides published by the Cardinal Newman Society or EWTN or another reputable Catholic source. A very few Catholic universities are still authentically Catholic; you owe it to your kids to check them out. Here’s a freebie: University of Dallas.

I seached, and I might have missed something, but I could not find any links or quotes from Brian Kelly that he is pro choice. Am I missing something? Here is a link from Friday’s South Bend Tribune article on Kelly where the abortion issue is addressed. www.southbendtribune.com/article/20091212/SPORTS13/312129999/-1/googleNews29999/-1/googleNews