Obama Calls for 'Open Minds, Fair-Minded Words'

President's Notre Dame speech was radical and conservative: Dionne

(NEWSER) - Abortion opponents protested and pro-life students skipped, but Barack Obama's Notre Dame commencement address was at once "the most radical and the most conservative speech of his presidency," writes Washington Post columnist EJ Dionne. The president refused to indulge the protesters' desire to "reignite the culture wars," opting for humility and compromise—but he showed a comfort with the language of faith equal to George Bush. 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»

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»

Majority call themselves 'pro-life' for first time in survey's history

(NEWSER) - For the first time in 15 years, a majority of Americans identified themselves as “pro-life” on the issue of abortion, a Gallup poll finds. In a drastic shift from just a year ago, 51% say they’re pro-life, 42% pro-choice, after a 50%-44% split in favor of pro-choice in 2008. The poll sees particularly significant shifts toward the position among women, Republicans, Protestants, and Catholics. More»

(NEWSER) - The majority of Catholics voted for Obama in November, but they haven’t exactly been singing hosannas to him since. Though Obama made no secret of his support for stem cell research and his intention to overturn the ban on family planning funding overseas, even moderate Catholics have been disappointed with the way he’s handled the moves, Time reports. More»