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WHAT:
Representatives from Catholic Democrats will be available to speak to the media about the University of Notre Dame awarding President Barack Obama an honorary degree at the university's Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 17th, a Presidential tradition since the 1950s.
This year, political
activists, operatives, and pundits from the right have tried to
turn the graduation into a political firestorm. They
have been joined to varying degrees by a vocal minority of Catholic
bishops. They have called on Notre Dame to "uninvite" President Obama
and have pledged to turn the ceremony into a political and media circus. Over the past several weeks, far right activists have been arrested for conducting outrageous protests on campus.
To demonstrate the support that the University of Notre Dame, its President Fr. John Jenkins, and President Obama have among Catholics, Catholic Democrats launched a statement of support for Notre Dame, Fr. Jenkins, and Catholic educational excellence in April. This week, the organization launched the Catholics for Notre Dame Web site, which includes the statement of support, tools to send letters to the editor supporting Notre Dame's decision to local newspapers, and a moving and compelling video on being Catholic in America.
This weekend, Catholic Democrats will join with the Democratic Party in South Bend to conduct a service project to collect goods for a food pantry. Additionally, the organization will be hosting a reunion for several priests who worked with President Obama in Chicago during his time as a community organizer in the 1980's. Catholic Democrats has several representatives who can speak to the media about Catholic identity, education, and Notre Dame, including Dr. Patrick Whelan, Catholic Democrats's president, who will be in South Bend. |
WHO:
Dr. Patrick Whelan, President, Catholic Democrats
Steve Krueger, National Director, Catholic Democrats
Jeff McGowan, Indiana State Coordinator, Catholic Democrats To schedule an interview, please contact Steve Krueger at [email protected] or by phone at
(617) 817-8617. |
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About Catholic Democrats Catholic Democrats is a not-for-profit national organization representing a Catholic voice within the Democratic Party, and a voice for the Democratic Party in the Catholic community. We advance a public
understanding of the rich tradition of Catholic Social Teaching and its
potential to help solve the broad range of problems confronting all
Americans. For more information about Catholic Democrats please go to www.catholicdemocrats.org. |
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Catholic Democrats
Steve Krueger
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