President Obama is widely acknowledged to be an eloquent speaker--to possess "a well-trained tongue," as the author of the Book of Isaiah puts it in this Sunday's reading. Some Catholics are not pleased, however, that he has been invited to deliver the commencement address at the University of Notre Dame graduation ceremonies this May.

Notre Dame's decision to invite Obama to speak has sparked protest from some Catholics because his stances on abortion and stem cell research are at odds with Catholic Church teachings.

Notre Dame's overture to Obama is in keeping with the university's record of seeking newly elected presidents from both political parties as commencement speakers. Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush spoke to Notre Dame graduates months after taking office.

"This has sparked something beyond the usual right-left controversy," said David Gibson, a Catholic author of books on Pope Benedict XVI and the U.S. church. "Whether you're for or against the decision to invite him is morphing into kind of an X-ray of where everybody stands in the Catholic Church."

Rev. Hugh W. Cleary, superior general of the Congregation of Holy Cross, which founded Notre Dame, wrote a letter to Obama on March 22 asking him to rethink--through "prayerful wrestling" with his conscience--his positions on abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research in the weeks leading up to his speech. Cleary said the decision to invite Obama wasn't his but said the visit should be a "teachable moment" for all.

Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame's president, said Obama is being honored as an "inspiring leader" facing challenges from the economy, two wars, health care, and immigration and health care reform.

Jenkins also singled out Obama, the first black president, as a healer of racial wounds. That is of special significance at Notre Dame because retired university president Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, 91, linked arms with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and served on the first U.S. Civil Rights Commission.

The Obama invitation, Jenkins emphasized, does not condone or endorse Obama's positions on stem cells or abortion but the visit is "a basis for further positive engagement."

Past Notre Dame invitations have drawn protests as well, said Douglas Kmiec, a Catholic law professor and former Reagan administration lawyer whose endorsement of Obama last year was controversial. Kmiec, who taught at Notre Dame for 20 years and supports the invitation to Obama, called it a sign of a mature university and further evidence that religion is now firmly part of the public discourse.

"Religion has been invited into the public square," Kmiec said. "Our voice is being heard. But we now will presume to exclude from the religious venue the public voices that have the duty and responsibility to people of many different faiths and no faith at all? That seems to be an ironic way to return a favor."

Source: Articles by Eric Gorski and Tom Coyne for the Associated Press