NY Times on the Obama/Notre Dame Controversy

NY Times: Invitation to Obama Stirs Up Notre Dame, by Dirk Johnson:

As church bells pealed, Claire Gillen, a Notre Dame freshman, stood on the stone steps of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, accusing this fabled Roman Catholic institution of sin and sacrilege.

“It’s a scandal,” said Ms. Gillen, voicing outrage over the university’s invitation to President Obama, a supporter of abortion rights, to deliver the commencement address here on May 17.

Some alumni have called the campus saying they have thrown away their Fighting Irish sweatshirts in disgust. The local bishop, John D’Arcy, has vowed to boycott the graduation ceremony. A visiting high school senior, Halley Chavey, who said she was thrilled just weeks ago to be accepted here, said she might reject the offer because the college was hosting “the most pro-abortion president we’ve ever had.”

But for all the high-pitched indignation, the talk among students and faculty on this gothic campus of towering oaks and sculpted saints seems to reveal a strikingly upbeat mood about Mr. Obama’s visit.