We are deeply disappointed and discouraged by Notre Dame’s announcement that Vice President Joe Biden and former Speaker of the House John Boehner will receive the Laetare Medal at this year’s commencement. The Laetare Medal is presented annually to an American Catholic “in recognition of outstanding service to the Church and society. It is considered the oldest and most prestigious award for American Catholics.”
Fr. Jenkins explained the University’s basis for its decision: “One of our great challenges today is people who disagree often will vilify, attack, demean the opposition and then they cannot work with the opposition. One of the great Catholic concepts is the common good. What is the common good? You and I may disagree, or Boehner and Biden may disagree, but we have to recognize that whatever we think, we have to act for the common good.
“One thing I hope we do at the University is we try to bring our students to understand they can disagree but they need to talk to one another, reason with one another and despite differences, they should always respect the other person and not demean.
“Unless we do that, we cannot work together, we cannot serve the common good. We are just in this gridlock of antagonism that is all too common today.”
Most would agree the tone of our politics could be improved, but Fr. Jenkins’ call for civility is a mistaken basis upon which to decide who is worthy of the Laetare Medal. By awarding the Laetare Medal to Biden and Boehner, the University discredits the award, which ought to honor an American Catholic for service to the Church and society rather than make a point about the character of political dialogue.
The University has made a mistake, one that devalues the Laetare Medal and reflects poorly on the judgment of the University’s leaders. Unfortunately, this unacceptable decision is exacerbated by the fact that Notre Dame has once again scandalized faithful Catholics across the country, as it did when it honored President Barack Obama with an honorary degree at commencement in 2009.
Joe Biden is a Catholic who served as one of Delaware’s two senators for 36 years before becoming vice president in 2009. During his years in the Senate, he was undoubtedly one of the most rabidly partisan senators. He did more than anyone in Washington to turn the confirmation process for Supreme Court nominees into a political bloodbath. He has repeatedly applauded the Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade. For some of his years in the Senate, he received a zero rating from pro-life groups. It was not always so. Early in his career Biden opposed abortion. By the mid-1980s, however, he had evolved out of what he called a youthful reliance upon his Catholic faith, a reliance he now repudiates.
Biden supports federal funding for embryonic stem cell research and voted against a ban on human cloning. He embraces same-sex marriage and the HHS mandate, which requires religious institutions such as Notre Dame to facilitate coverage of contraceptives and abortifacients under its healthcare plans — Notre Dame itself is suing the federal government for relief from this mandate. Biden’s positions on all these issues are directly contrary to Church teaching. His public service has not been “to the Church,” but largely against the Church.
The United States bishops write, “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”
We object to Notre Dame’s decision to honor Vice President Biden with the Laetare Medal. Giving the award to Speaker Boehner at the same time does not alleviate the scandal committed by the University’s blatant disregard for the injunction of the Catholic bishops.
As students of this University, some of whom will graduate in May, we are disappointed Notre Dame has failed in this instance to live up to its Catholic mission. We deserve to see the Laetare Medal given to an American Catholic who merits it by having served as an outstanding example for Catholics and having performed real service to the Church in this country.
Tim Bradley
senior
Alexandra DeSanctis
senior
Christina Gotcher
senior
Sophia Buono
sophomore
Hailey Vrdolyak
senior
John Kill
sophomore
Madeleine Cook
junior
Eileen Madigan
sophomore
Henry Dickman
junior
Michael Moss
junior
Joshua Gluch
junior
James Herrick IV
senior
William Harris
senior
Garrett Fisher
sophomore
Clare Scantling
sophomore
Francesca Patti
freshman
Molly Weiner
sophomore
Sofia Carozza
freshman
Emmett Wilmes
junior
Theresa Gallagher
freshman
Jeanne Farnan
sophomore
Anna Bradley
sophomore
Kevin McCarthy
sophomore
Carolyn Ebner
sophomore
Kathryn Dennee
senior
Michael Singleton
sophomore
Ryan Kerr
junior
Michael Bradley
graduate student
Anna Schaffer
junior
Grace Enright
freshman
Nathan Miller
sophomore
Kerrianne Conroy
sophomore
Patrick Gallagher
senior
Alex Hadley
sophomore
Ryan Sweeney
junior
Nicholas James Gerstbauer
sophomore
Natalia Yépez-Frias
freshman
Teresa Kaza
freshman
Kevin Dougherty
freshman
Grace Agolia
junior
Thomas Wheeler
junior
Lincoln Tyler Robinson
senior
Gavin Ennis
freshman
Brian Buechler
junior
David Carmack
freshman
Matthew Connell
freshman
Sadie Facile
freshman
Ann Gallagher
junior
Ricardo A. Dira Jr.
senior
Joseph Cook
freshman
Isabella Penola
freshman
Margaret Cross
junior
Matthew Souza
senior
Alexander Roth
grad student
Jack Connors
junior
Benjamin Swanson
junior
Sarah Ortiz
freshman
Maria Kunath
sophomore
Giuliana Carozza
senior
Frank Cipollone
senior
Mackenzie Kraker
freshman
Liam Stewart
freshman
John Ryan
freshman
Kylie Minor
freshman
Rebecca Devine
senior
Stephanie Reuter
sophomore
Nicole O'Leary
sophomore
Andrea Desilets
freshman
Emily Fischer
freshman
Jessica Harris
sophomore
Timothy Primes
freshman
Alexander Robinson
senior
Emily Burns
junior
Steven Trottier
senior
John Kessler
sophomore
John Gillen
senior
Redmond Tuttle
freshman
Patrick Koehr
sophomore
William Cheely
senior
Alex White
senior
Tierney Vrdolyak
sophomore
Tim Sherman
sophomore
Mary Mangan
graduate student
Maya Lewis
junior
Daniel Sweeney
freshman
Brian Florin
senior
Colin McCarthy
freshman
William McDonald
freshman
Therese Benz
freshman
