Obama at Notre Dame

So Planned Parenthood gave an honorary doctorate to the President of Operation Rescue, Troy Newman.

Oops, got that a little wrong. Notre Dame--the most prestigious Catholic university in America--gave President Barack Obama--the most radical political proponent of abortion rights--an honorary doctorate and let him speak before their graduates.

Notre Dame's stubborn insistence on inviting a president who deeply opposes core Catholic values at least shows the charity and tolerance of the institution, something we'd never see from those on the other side of the abortion debate.

What struck me most about Obama's pleasant and persuasive rhetoric was his ability to acknowledge how "the two sides were irreconcilable," yet make the debate sound like a choice between paint color on the wall--we both have reasonable opinions, we just disagree, so let's quit demonizing one another and be fair minded.

So if I say abortion is the taking of a human life and those who perform it are killing children, is that demonizing and uncivil speech? Is that not a fair minded description of this tragic procedure?

Then Obama urged, "Let's work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions by reducing unintended pregnancies, and making adoption more available, and providing care and support for women who do carry their child to term."

Surely, Notre Dame realizes that this suggestion bumps against the Catholic Church's teaching against any form of artificial birth control. And when it comes to making adoption more available and providing support for women who do carry their child to term, I think the Church is doing far more than the Planned Parenthoods of the world.

And to see through the ruse of "let's reduce the numbers..." just imagine the debate is about slavery. Let's reduce the number of slaves, but let's never banish slavery and never call it absolutely immoral.

If anything, Obama's address at Notre Dame brought attention to the plight of the unborn. Remember Psalm 139.