Catholic colleges feel brunt of Notre Dame uproar

The protests over the University of Notre Dame's commencement invitation to President Barack Obama will have an impact beyond the South Bend campus and far longer than graduation season.

While the drubbing focused on the nation's most prestigious Roman Catholic school, the criticism also served as a warning to all Catholic colleges and universities about the potential for opposition to their own policies.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has said that Catholic schools should not give awards or platforms to those who "act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles."

"There have occasionally been tensions between an individual bishop and a Catholic institution within his diocese, usually related to some public misrepresentation of or dissent from Catholic teaching, or some professor considered to be at odds with the church's doctrine, but nothing of this scale," said the Rev. David O'Connell, president of The Catholic University of America, which was founded by the nation's bishops.

"When one of the more prominent Catholic institutions does this, the bishops grow concerned that it will signal approval or the perception of approval of such contrary positions, and that other Catholic universities or colleges will follow suit."

Obama, who supports abortion rights, received standing ovations when he was awarded an honorary degree and gave the Notre Dame commencement address last Sunday.

Still, the unprecedented clamor in the weeks leading up to the event emboldened watchdog groups. As just one example, the Cardinal Newman Society, an independent Catholic organization that monitors Catholic colleges and universities, said it collected more than 367,000 signatures for an online petition condemning Obama's role in the ceremony.

"Given the high-profile nature of the Notre Dame situation, one would think these colleges and universities would back off anyone problematic," said Patrick Reilly, the society's president.

Even more importantly, the nation's bishops showed a new willingness to speak out when they believe a decision by a Catholic college or university undermines the church.

Bishops generally stay silent and defer to a local prelate about any trouble inside his own diocese, including conflicts with schools in his jurisdiction. Yet, more than 75 of the roughly 265 active U.S. bishops criticized Notre Dame for honoring Obama. Outside the Notre Dame graduation, Bishop John D'Arcy of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind., who boycotted the event, celebrated a Mass at a rally for anti-abortion protesters.

"This is an impact that is likely to be felt for some period of time," said Richard Yanikoski, president of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, which is based in Washington and represents more than 200 U.S. schools. "It's certainly " but one doesn't know exactly how " helping to shape public perception."

The board of the college association will discuss commencement speakers in light of the Notre Dame controversy in a meeting next month. Yanikoski, a consultant to the U.S. bishops' education committee, expects the panel also will take up the issue, although probably not until their next scheduled meeting in November.