Posted on 05/05/2011 2:43:35 PM PDT by mlizzy
Charges Dropped Against Anti-Abortion Protesters at University’s Commencement with President Obama
May 5, 2011 (Chicago)… Today, Michael Dvorak, St. Joseph County, Indiana prosecutor, dismissed the criminal trespass charges that he has pressed over the last two years against almost all of the pro-life protesters, known as the “ND88,” the individuals arrested for trespassing when they entered upon Notre Dame’s campus in peaceful and prayerful protest against the University’s bestowing honors on President Barack Obama at the 2009 Commencement. Dvorak dropped the charges as part of an agreement between the Thomas More Society and the University.
“This is a big step forward and a victory for the pro-life cause,” said Tom B Brejcha, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Society and a 1965 Notre Dame graduate. “We are appreciative of the steps that Notre Dame has taken, including successive visits by University President John Jenkins, C.S.C., and other campus leaders to the March for Life in Washington, D.C., both in 2010 and 2011, to mark the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and the creation of new and significant pro-life initiatives on campus. Those who share pro-life convictions may differ on tactics and approaches, but they best serve their sacred cause when they work together to secure the common good for all human beings, born and unborn alike, rather than carrying on as courtroom antagonists.”
Tom Dixon, South Bend, Indiana attorney and Thomas More Society special counsel, had led the defense over the last two years, during which the parties engaged in vigorous litigation, including extensive discovery proceedings.
The parties remain in profound disagreement over the 2009 Commencement, but after prayerful consideration they have decided to put their differences behind them, to cease battling in court, and rather to affirm a commitment to the fundamental proposition that each and every human life is sacred, from conception until natural death, no matter whether rich or poor, humble or exalted, wanted or “unwanted.”
Moreover, both parties have pledged not to rehash the events of the past, but on the contrary, to recognize each other’s pro-life efforts and to work together to find ways to increase those efforts and maximize their impact on the nation’s contentious, ongoing debate over abortion policy.
For more information or to speak with an attorney at the Thomas More Society, please contact Tom Ciesielka at 312-422-1333 or tc@tcpr.net
obamma: bringing people together, to fight each!
Notre Dame....My dad taught there
Boston College....my alma mater
I hereby spit on both institutions.
“The Faculty Senate affirms again Fr. Jenkins’ witness to the University of Notre Dame’s commitments both to intellectual inquiry and debate and to the dignity of the human person and the sanctity of human life; and by this resolution wishes to commend the ongoing public witness of Fr. Jenkins, his Task Force on Supporting the Choice for Life, the Coordinator of University Life Issues, and most especially Notre Dame students, to a culture of life.”
http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2011/05/notre-dame-faculty-senate-rejects-pro.html
Evidently the price of this settlement was a promise from Tom Brejcha to speak well about Fr. Jenkins.
I can’t blame him for accepting the deal, since it got 88 admirable people off the hook.
But it should be pointed out that their “trespassing” consisted of stepping onto Notre Dame property on a public sidewalk, reciting prayers, carrying pictures of Our Lady, or singing hymns.
Not long before, a gang of gay rights activists was permitted to say what they liked, and no charges were brought against THEM for trespassing.
Jenkins could have dropped charges at any time, but refused to do so. This cost everyone concerned a lot of time and money, including the pro-lifers and the Thomas More Society.
Brejcha can say as he likes. But, as a Catholic, I say that Fr. Jenkins is a heretical scum who has no business being President of a “Catholic” university.
ping
I’m sure he does. I get his mailings regularly, have read what he has been saying about this affair, and contribute what I can.
I should have added that I don’t fault him for this settlement, and will continue to support the Thomas More Society.
Fr. Jenkins kept this farce going just as long as he could, in order to cost his enemies in the pro-life movement as much money and suffering as possible. But I think he has succeeded in damaging himself and Notre Dame far more than he has hurt them.
Glad to hear this!
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