Bishop to Skip Obama Event Over Stem Cells, Abortion

The Vatican takes softer stance on Notre Dame debate

(NEWSER) - While conservative Catholics rage over President Obama's upcoming commencement speech at Notre Dame, one man has remained silent: the Holy Father. Indeed, American Catholic leaders and the Pope have staked out dramatically different positions from the Obama administration's, Amy Sullivan observes in Time. Yet the Vatican’s response to the pro-choice president has verged on approval. More»

Zealous Notre Dame protests will further hurt their cause

(NEWSER) - Randall Terry and other “Catholic extremists” will lead protests against President Obama’s speech at Notre Dame today—but their anti-abortion zealotry will only continue to hurt their cause, writes Frances Kissling in Salon. “The idea that anything goes in fighting abortion died” in the ‘90s when providers were shot, but that hasn’t stopped an “unapologetic” Terry from parading a blood-covered doll around the campus. More»

(NEWSER) - Students at Notre Dame upset that President Obama will deliver today's commencement address began an all-night prayer vigil Saturday night, reports AP. Earlier, campus police arrested 19 anti-abortion protesters—none of them students—and charged them with trespassing, notes CNN. The invitation to pro-choice Obama has raised a ruckus at the Catholic school, and some of the more extreme members of the anti-abortion camp plan to make their presence felt at the college. More»

(NEWSER) - Cardinal Francis George of Chicago ratcheted up the criticism of Notre Dame for inviting President Obama to give a commencement speech in May, the Tribune reports. The school “didn’t understand what it means to be Catholic when they issued this invitation,” said George. Catholic groups have criticized the move because of Obama’s decisions on stem cell research, abortion, and family planning. More»

Nation's most prominent Roman Catholic school says it violates constitution

(NEWSER) - More trouble for the Obama administration's mandate requiring most employers to cover birth control: Now the University of Notre Dame is suing, the AP reports, claiming that the mandate violates religious freedom. Observers had been waiting to see what step Notre Dame would take as the US' most prominent Roman Catholic school. US Roman Catholic bishops were not satisfied by the White House's attempts to accommodate religious groups, and other religious colleges have already filed their own lawsuits. More»