Notre Dame Isn’t the Only Catholic University With a Commencement Controversy

The University of Notre Dame has been criticized by some leaders of the Catholic Church for inviting Barack Obama to speak at its commencement ceremonies. Mary Ann Glendon, a professor at Harvard Law School who is a former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, has declined to receive an award at the Notre Dame commencement. She believes that Obama’s stance on abortion should preclude him from being honored at Notre Dame.

Now Alfred Hughes, the archbishop of New Orleans, announced that he would boycott this Saturday’s commencement ceremonies at Xavier University, the historically black educational institution in Louisiana which is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. The archbishop, who is white, is protesting the awarding of an honorary degree to political strategist Donna Brazile because of her support for abortion rights.

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