Former Laetare Medalist Judge John T. Noonan to deliver address (at ND instead of Glendon)

American Papist ^ | 4/30/2009 | Thomas Peters

[markomalley]

Flash: Former Laetare Medalist Judge John T. Noonan to deliver address at Notre Dame’s Commencement in lieu of Mary Ann Glendon

From Notre Dame's Office of News & Info:

Judge John T. Noonan Jr., the 1984 recipient of the Laetare Medal, has accepted an invitation to deliver an address in the spirit of the award at Notre Dame’s 164th University Commencement Ceremony on May 17. His speech will be in lieu of awarding the medal this year.

“In thinking about who could bring a compelling voice, a passion for dialogue, great intellectual stature, and a deep commitment to Catholic values to the speaking role of the Laetare Medalist – especially in these unusual circumstances – it quickly became clear that an ideal choice is Judge Noonan,” said Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., president of Notre Dame. “This commencement ceremony, more than anything else, is a celebration of our students and their families. Judge Noonan will join with President Obama and other speakers in that celebration, sending them from our campus and into the world with sound advice and affirmation.

“Since Judge Noonan is a previous winner of the Laetare Medal, we have decided, upon reflection, to not award the medal this year.”

And way down at the bottom, as an "afterthought" conclusion:

"Mary Ann Glendon, Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard University and former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, was selected as the 2009 Laetare Medalist but declined the honor."

My quick take:

• "Especially in these unusual circumstances." I love it when press releases fail to acknowledge, then simultaneously presume the reader to know, what is happening.
• Fr. Jenkins has discovered an inventive way to avoid "re-gifting" the Laetare medal, after he haughtily (and I argued, in a knee-jerk manner) claimed he would give the award to someone else. Hello, Plan C.
• I'll leave it for others to evaluate what we can expect from Noonan. What's his track record? I'm pretty sure he (falsely) believes Catholics are free to disagree with the Church about contraception.
• Fr. Jenkins is not even trying to touch why Mary Ann Glendon would refuse Notre Dame's highest honor. I think he's learned a very painful lesson about putting words in other people's mouths.
• At the same time, note at least two little jabs Jenkins sneaks in: 1} he says Noonan has a "passion for dialogue" ("unlike some people," you can almost hear Jenkins say). 2} Jenkins also claims that commencement is "more than anything else, a celebration of our students and their families" - he is trying to redefine what commencement is (and omitting the honorary degree part entirely) in order to avoid the blow being leveled at him by (now 55) bishops - namely, that Notre Dame is giving a platform to Obama and honoring him. This decision/press release represent a hardening Notre Dame response to criticism.

[markomalley]

Note: this is a Catholic blog source, but no "hard news" sources have this story yet. I know that a lot of folks, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, have been following this story, thus the posting in "news" vice "religion."

[markomalley]

ping for your lists

[pillut48]

So this judge is a CINO too, eh?

Silver lining to all of this is the weeding out factor!

[river rat]

Folks should know that Mary Ann Glendon declined the award and opportunity to speak at the commencement service after learning that Obama has also been invited to speak..

She objected to Obama, the champion of abortionists speaking on a Catholic campus...

Imagine that - the gall of the lady...

Too bad there are not more folks with the convictions of this fine woman..

[verga]

And still absent is DeLorenzo of Richmond

[river rat]

Declining Notre Dame: A Letter from Mary Ann Glendon

By Mary Ann Glendon
Monday, April 27, 2009, 9:32 AM

April 27, 2009
The Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.
President
University of Notre Dame

Dear Father Jenkins,

When you informed me in December 2008 that I had been selected to receive Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal, I was profoundly moved. I treasure the memory of receiving an honorary degree from Notre Dame in 1996, and I have always felt honored that the commencement speech I gave that year was included in the anthology of Notre Dame’s most memorable commencement speeches. So I immediately began working on an acceptance speech that I hoped would be worthy of the occasion, of the honor of the medal, and of your students and faculty.

Last month, when you called to tell me that the commencement speech was to be given by President Obama, I mentioned to you that I would have to rewrite my speech. Over the ensuing weeks, the task that once seemed so delightful has been complicated by a number of factors.

First, as a longtime consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, I could not help but be dismayed by the news that Notre Dame also planned to award the president an honorary degree. This, as you must know, was in disregard of the U.S. bishops’ express request of 2004 that Catholic institutions “should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles” and that such persons “should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.” That request, which in no way seeks to control or interfere with an institution’s freedom to invite and engage in serious debate with whomever it wishes, seems to me so reasonable that I am at a loss to understand why a Catholic university should disrespect it.

Then I learned that “talking points” issued by Notre Dame in response to widespread criticism of its decision included two statements implying that my acceptance speech would somehow balance the event:

• “President Obama won’t be doing all the talking. Mary Ann Glendon, the former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, will be speaking as the recipient of the Laetare Medal.”

• “We think having the president come to Notre Dame, see our graduates, meet our leaders, and hear a talk from Mary Ann Glendon is a good thing for the president and for the causes we care about.”

A commencement, however, is supposed to be a joyous day for the graduates and their families. It is not the right place, nor is a brief acceptance speech the right vehicle, for engagement with the very serious problems raised by Notre Dame’s decision—in disregard of the settled position of the U.S. bishops—to honor a prominent and uncompromising opponent of the Church’s position on issues involving fundamental principles of justice.

Finally, with recent news reports that other Catholic schools are similarly choosing to disregard the bishops’ guidelines, I am concerned that Notre Dame’s example could have an unfortunate ripple effect.

It is with great sadness, therefore, that I have concluded that I cannot accept the Laetare Medal or participate in the May 17 graduation ceremony.

In order to avoid the inevitable speculation about the reasons for my decision, I will release this letter to the press, but I do not plan to make any further comment on the matter at this time.

Yours Very Truly,

Mary Ann Glendon

Mary Ann Glendon is Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. A member of the editorial and advisory board of First Things , she served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican from 2007 to 2009.

[river rat]

This is what a real hero and leader looks like....

NOT this:

[Mrs. Don-o]

All I can tell you is that he's in his 80's, he was considered a principled prolife judge 20 years ago, and I haven't heard about him since.

Is Noonan pulling Jenkins' bacon out of the fire? It feels to me like he's willing to be "played," which is troubling.

[Melchior]

Noonan is a judge on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals — the most liberal judicial voting bloc in America. A study of his decisions will likely show that he is pro-abortion, pro-homosexual marriage, and pro-homosexual adoption.

[Mach9]

Sure hope attendees & grads have an alternative plan—

[pgkdan]

And still absent is DeLorenzo of Richmond

he won't say anything...someone might notice he's there.

[Arguendo]

Unlikely, since he was appointed by Reagan. There are a number of conservative judges on the 9th Circuit.

[RobbyS]

Judge Noonan is pretty liberal. Yes, in his book “Contraception,” he found the Church’s historic position on the use of contraceptives to be ambiguous; however, he came out against abortion on demand/infanticide ,which he found had been
opposed by the Church in no certain terms since the beginning. As a result he was appointed to a federal judgeship by Reagan. In general, his views are Madisonian. It will interesting to see if he affirms/criticizes Notre Dame’s stand or not. Evangelicals think that Noonan is “conservative,” but I have my doubts. that he is to the right of Fr. Jenkins.

[NYer]

Note: this is a Catholic blog source, but no "hard news" sources have this story yet.

Here is the official announcement rom Notre Dame's web site: Former Laetare Medalist Judge John T. Noonan to deliver address at Notre Dame’s Commencement

[Mrs. Don-o]

Noonan has been a scholarly and comprehensive arguer against abortion, about which he has written fat magisterial tomes (I use "magisterial" in the academic sense), in fact comparable to what Mary Ann Glendon has done in her specialty area of Family Law.

But I have nothing more to say until I actually see his judicial record.

[bdeaner]

Noonan was formerly a faculty member at Notre Dame. This is probably a favor. But a big mistake on his part.

[annalex]

Important point:

Mary Ann Glendon refused the medal because her participation was spinned by Jenkins as justifying honoring Obama. NOT because Obama was to speak on the same day.

This should be clear from her letter you posted at #6.

It is important because Jenkins and his cronies are now spinning Mary Ann Glendon’s rejection as fear of “engaging”.

[livius]

I read that the actual speaking time given to the person at the award is about 5 minutes - it’s not a lecture or even a serious address. One of the things that Glendon objected to was that she was being used as eyewash, and I think this is still the case. She was invited before Bambi was invited, but she has been presented in recent weeks as ND’s “dialogue” with Bambi, although in a 5 minute award recipient speech, she was certainly not going to be able to do much of anything. She realized that she was being used after the fact to cover up Jenkins’ horrid politically motivated action.

I’m disappointed that Noonan, if he is really anti-abortion, would do this. His appearance is not a rebuttal or even a “dialogue” with Obama, but simply legitimizes Jenkins’ lousy actions.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Well, here's an interesting point: Noonan is an advisor to the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture, which is considered more or less the student prolife hdq. on campus at Notre Dame. Their own list of "who inspires us" is illuminating and encouraging:

• Elizabeth Anscombe
• Orestes Brownson
• G.K. Chesterton
• Christopher Dawson
• Dorothy Day
• John Paul the Great
• C.S. Lewis
• Jacques Maritain
• John Henry Newman
• Dorothy Sayers

According to their website:

Judge Noonan joined the Center during his tenure as a visiting professor at the Notre Dame Law School as a Visiting Research Fellow. He gave a plenary presentation at the Center's "Culture of Death" conference in October 2000. In 1998, he delivered the J. Philip Clarke Family Lecture on Medical Ethics for the annual Notre Dame Medical Ethics Conference.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Unless he’s going to use his 5 minutes to throw down the gauntlet. Which wouldn’t seem to be Jenkins’ intent. But-— the ball’s still in play.