Fighting Irish Thomas

Weis' Irish Wake, Pt III: Huskies Halt Hapless Irish in Double OT 33-30

2009-11-22T12:44:00.029-06:00

Notre Dame, our Mother
Tender, strong and true
Proudly in the heavens,
Gleams thy gold and blue.
Glory's mantle cloaks thee
Golden is thy fame,
And our hearts forever,
Praise thee, Notre Dame.
And our hearts forever,
Love thee, Notre Dame.
--Notre Dame Our Mother, the "alma mater song"

On yet another surreally beautiful November day in South Bend, the Notre Dame sliding Irish completed the hard-to-believe scene by falling to yet another inferior opponent at home, losing to Connecticut by the final score of 33-30. For although Senior Day had the senior captains coming out of the tunnel with arms interlocked with Charlie Weis' to show their unwavering support for their embattled coach, this embarrassing performance most certainly buried Charlie, and assured he would be exiting the campus with them, if not before. Still, if Saturday's loss meant Charlie would no longer be roaming the sidelines, it also showed that something of Weis would remain.

It was the third game I attended this season, the most Notre Dame games I had personally witnessed in an autumn since my student days, and the morning certainly started out on a hopeful note. Not only was the sunny and mid-50's weather spectacular for mid-November, but I was accompanied by all three of my sons, who, after a Crypt Mass and a Grotto visit, were getting an insider tour of the University by my niece, Kathleen Hull. After Kathleen, a freshman at Notre Dame, showed us her spanking new Ryan Hall dorm room, not to mention the Jimmy Clausen signature on the collage outside her door (it seems that Jimmy, as well as his black lab, "Magic," have become frequent visitors to Ryan since he started dating a sophomore down the hall) she led us into her new dorm's chapel. While perhaps not as beautiful as the Sacred Heart Basilica, the little church was striking nonetheless. And it was striking not just for the traditional stained glass window that rose behind the altar, but for the fact that, in an era where Notre Dame's ancient dissident theologian, Fr. Richard McBrien's, recent heresy proclaims Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration should be de-emphasized (and less accessible), this architectural decision to include a 24/7 dorm chapel to make such worship even easier for Notre Dame's new residents showed that, after all these years, O'Brien's BS is still not winning the battle for Notre Dame's soul.

As for the game itself, I suppose Chicago Tribune writer Brian Hamilton's story "Song Remains the Same," sums up the secular aspects of the contest rather succinctly. Indeed, it was the all too familiar dirge of recent games, where the offense, defense and special teams played well at times, but not in the moments when it really mattered. After scoring touchdowns on two of its first three possessions, the Irish offense, which ranks 9th in the nation in yardage, then showed why it is a mere 44th in scoring, managing only a pair of field goals the next nine times it had the ball. The special teams initially looked okay for a change, with both punting and place kicking (no missed field goals or PATs) actually performing well, but after the opening Irish drive of the second half stalled after nearly six minutes and forced Notre Dame to settle for three, twelve seconds later UConn's Jordan Todman's 96-yd kickoff return TD through inept Irish tackling not only completely erased a 14 point deficit but seized the momentum for the Huskies. And finally, after some initial holds, the Irish defense came completely unglued at the end, allowing the Huskies to score TDs on both overtime possessions, when the Irish OT offense managed only a field goal on its second overtime attempt. And once again, great individual performances by Jimmy Clausen (30-45-329, 2TDs) and Golden Tate (9-123; which enabled Tate to break the Notre Dame single season mark for yards and receptions, having now caught 83 passes for 1,295 yds) that on a winning team would be worthy of Heismans, were wasted.

We did not stay for the band's post-game playing of the alma mater, for although the player's singing of Notre Dame Our Mother is one of the sweetest tributes to Mary I've ever seen after a tough victory, after a loss it becomes quite painful, and from the sounds of Hamilton's account, yesterday it was like watching The Passion of the Christ. Considering some of the Irish students apparently followed this beautiful ballad up with an irrelevant chorus of "na-na-na-na, hey hey hey, goodbye," aimed not at the opposition but at their own lame duck coach still limping off the field, I'm glad I left before the crucifixion began. Still, although Hamilton's title may have been accurate for what he saw of the saga, he could not have known just how appropriate it was. For as it turned out, I did not miss the "alma mater" after all...

It was now at least an hour after the game, and I was leading my sons on one last visit to the Grotto before our trip home, when we were struck by an incredible (and ultimately very moving) sight. For directly in front of the Dome, we saw a bunch of the band members looking up at Mary, playing "Notre Dame, Our Mother" one more time. They were now in their street clothes, and missing some of the band's nearly 200 members, but this remnant must have felt their last 2009 tribute to Our Lady was somewhat tarnished by the Weis razzing, and had decided to correct this slight to make it right at the feet of Our Lady Herself. To a casual observer such as Hamilton, I suppose this rendition, minus the full complement of musicians and instruments, probably came off as somewhat weak, but in my forty plus years as a fan of Notre Dame, I have never seen it played with such power or purpose. And I realized then this was not only a perfect tribute to Our Lady on the Dome, but a fond and fitting farewell to Her soon-to-be former coach as well.

Just as Kathleen's new dorm, with the Eucharist "built-in," shows that those who oppose the Pope will never "take" Notre Dame, that performance proved that Weis' tradition of honouring Our Lady with Her song after each game will be remembered long after his losses are forgotten. His bluster and bravado may not have always impassioned his players, but on that night, his love for Our Lady most certainly inspired "Mary's musicians." And at Notre Dame, that may be the greatest legacy of all.

Second Collection for Abortions? Stop the Madness and Stiff the CCHD!

2009-11-20T21:18:00.007-06:00

This Sunday, November 22, 2009, Fighting Irish Thomas has gotten wind that the second collection in many U.S. Catholic parishes is going to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. According to excellent orthodox sources, including the tireless defender of the Faith, Michael Voris, the CCHD has used its donations to not only promote contraception and fund abortions, but to lobby for the "equal" rights of gay priests and lesbian nuns. While admitting to a few "slip ups" in the past (including millions to Obama, ACORN, and the ACLU to name a few), the CCHD now says it is clean, but to me that's like Fr. Jenkins sending letters to devout Notre Dame alumni extolling the virtues of the grotto when he needs donations to pay Fr. McBrien's salary.

Listen to Voris' piece (above), then go here and slip "Reform CCHD's" great protest coupons in the basket instead. If you have a bishop or pastor that's on the ball, and don't have the CCHD collection this Sunday, all the better. But for the rest of us, show them you won't be duped, then donate your spare change to Michael Voris, RealCatholicTV, Operation Rescue's Randall Terry, or FIT instead. You (and Our Lady) will be glad you did!

Weis' Irish Wake, Part II: Pitt, Refs Crush Notre Dame Comeback 27-22

2009-11-15T12:05:00.008-06:00

In what has become a familiar scenario, Notre Dame fell down by a huge third quarter deficit, came back big time in the 4th to make it a game, but in the end, the 8th-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers, aided by some truly rank officiating, prevailed by five. And in doing so, Dave "Champion of Faith" Wannstedt's charges not only kept Irish Head Coach Charlie Weis' nearly (im)perfect records against ranked teams intact (Weis' Irish have now won only one of eleven games against top ten opponents since 2006) but sent Charlie ever closer to the edge of the coaching abyss.

After penalties and turnovers left Notre Dame converting on only two of six trips to the red zone last week, Weis called "a relatively conservative game" in the first two quarters, which led to zero Irish trips inside the Pitt 20 in the first half and a 10-3 Panther halftime lead. It later became apparent Weis did so to prevent the Irish QB Jimmy Clausen from getting clobbered by the Panthers ferocious pass rush, and this worked okay in the early going when the Irish defense was playing relatively well. But when two Pitt runs and one Panther pass over 50 yards ran the Pittsburgh advantage to 20-3 and later 27-9, you knew once again that Clausen would be forced to put it up.

And put it up he did! After throwing for less than 80 first-half yards, Clausen, despite tremendous pressure, dropped passes, and several sacks, still finished 27 of 42 for 283. On a day when even ND's fine wide receiver Michael Floyd (who still caught 7 for 107) dropped a crucial 3rd down reception, it seemed only one man was up to Clausen's comeback challenge. For when all others felt the pressure, Golden Tate continued to impress.

Not only did Tate the Great catch 9 balls for 113 yds and Jimmy's only touchdown toss of the day, but Golden then took a punt return 87 yds to the house for Notre Dame's 3rd TD of the fourth quarter, putting the Irish in position for an improbable win. As it turned out Clausen would get one more chance to lead the Irish to the end zone. But when the referees turned a Clausen incompletion into a fumble and Pitt recovery with a call so blatantly incorrect that even the Panther coaches had a hard time comprehending it, the improbable Irish comeback (and probably Weis' Irish coaching career) was over.

"The time for talk is over, it's now time to produce," Weis said before this season, and it seems his own words have now doomed him. Having documented Weis' team's defensive deficits last week, yesterday's action shows that, while Charlie has recruited some skilled offensive players, he never has produced a great offensive line. This, coupled with the fact that his special teams have been AT BEST inconsistent (this year near the bottom of punting average and missed extra points) means Weis is more a coordinator than head coach. Weis does deserve credit for developing his quarterbacks and receivers (Charlie helped mold both Clausen and Brady Quinn from raw talents into bonafide stars, and by switching Tate from running back to wide receiver helped Golden reach his full potential) but right now the Irish football team mirrors the University in the disappointing direction it is going. Just as a handful of orthodox Notre Dame priests and teachers earnestly try to save Notre Dame from its dissident trustees and president, a few believing players still desperately try to preserve Her Honor on the field every Saturday. But, as last Saturday showed, without the right leaders, the rest of the recruits and students are not on the same page, and the fight of a few is usually not enough.

Weis on way out? Navy's anchors blow Irish BCS hopes away, 23-21

2009-11-08T14:46:00.013-06:00

It was an eerily warm November morning when I arrived in South Bend yesterday with my son, Gary, to attend the Notre Dame-Navy battle. "What a beautiful day for a game!" I exclaimed to my son as we listened unsuspectingly to the band's pre-game rendition of the Notre Dame Victory March. Little did we know that we were not about to witness a football game, but a funeral.

For not only did the Naval Academy's efficient yet stunning 23-21 victory, their second in three years against the Irish after Notre Dame had defeated them 43 years in a row, dash the Irish BCS Bowl hopes, but it awakened the echoes for Weis' departure to a deafening roar. Indeed, this game was a microcosm for what went wrong under Weis; despite the fact Charlie's trio of offensive stars, Jimmy Clausen, Michael Floyd and Golden Tate, put up their amazing numbers, when the breaks went against the offense, the defense could not bail them out.

For if (on paper) Clausen's numbers yesterday against the Midshipmen (a Notre Dame record 37 completions on 51 attempts for 452 yds and 2 TDs) were the stuff of Heismans, then the stats of Floyd (10 catches 141 yds) and Tate (9-132) weren't far behind. But because the Irish defense yielded over 350 rushing yards to a far less talented but better prepared Navy team (including 158 yds on a mere 14 carries to a cadet named Nick Murry, a mere mortal whose size and speed was more reminiscent of Rudy than a major college All-American), when the battered and courageous Irish QB uncharacteristically coughed it up in his weekly game of catch-up, Clausen and company's numbers just weren't enough.

Sure, you can't blame Charlie for Clausen's two rare turnovers, or the two missed field goals by Nick Taush, who had just made a school record 14 kicks in a row, but you can blame Weis for shoddy defense. For while Weis (who was of course the offensive coordinator for Super Bowl champ New England before he became the head coach of Notre Dame) has brought (with the exception of 2007) both a fairly consistent and dynamic offense to his alma mater, his defenses have left much to desire. "We played our hearts out, but they out-schemed us," said Irish nose tackle Ian Williams of yesterday's opponent--and if a smaller, less gifted team can often (because of better coaching) defeat the Notre Dame "D," Lord knows that a more gifted foe will continue to beat it like a drum. True, running the defense was never Charlie's specialty, but it is the head coach's responsibility to find someone who can, and five years (and four defensive coordinators) into his tenure, Weis has yet to do so.

If yesterday's loss was Weis' deathblow, as the alumni Board of Directors' ever-increasing murmurings seem to indicate, know that there is much positive in Charlie's eulogy also. Besides his offensive expertise, Charlie is both a Notre Dame graduate and a practicing Catholic, and as such brought both the mystique and spiritual aspect back to Notre Dame football after it had become dormant under Davie and Willingham. Although not as devout as Holtz, Weis nevertheless frequented the grotto, and focused needed attention on all special needs kids by openness in talking about his autistic daughter, Hannah. In addition, Weis started a great new Marian Irish football tradition by having his players sing to "Notre Dame Our Mother" after every home game, which, coming at a time when the very president of Our Lady's University displayed a dubious commitment to Catholicism, was especially poignant. I will always be indebted to Charlie for this open show of faith, but in the end, losing, especially on a consistent basis to teams with lesser or equal ability, is not inspiring, and will eventually tarnish the positive Christian witness you have wrought.

Still, if Weis' New Jersey bravado once struck some alumni as arrogant, the Notre Dame Board of Directors' canning of Tyrone Willingham before they landed Urban Meyer (who instead spurned their overtures and took his services--and the National Championship--to Florida) was even more so. If the Board could hire a proven winner and moral leader along the lines of Jon Gruden or Brian Kelly to become the next head coach of the Irish (and maybe keep Weis on as offensive coordinator), I'd be all for it. But even if consecutive home losses to Navy proved to be Weis' undoing, we still have to secure someone better before we bury him, or we'll wind up with a team that neither plays nor prays, a "Notre Dame" in name only.

Of Illegal Saints, Banned Blogs, and Bishop-Elects: WWJD

2009-11-01T16:14:00.020-06:00

"Those were the days when the Irish and their wise monks saved Western civilization, back when mentioning saints wasn't illegal" --John Kass, Chicago Tribune

Sitting here on this All Saints Day, having (due to two jobs and a college class) not blogged on FIT in months, I figured it was time to, if not get caught up, at least get current. First, to all the Fightin' Irish fans, despite the fact I was definitely at the forefront of the "Dump Jenkins" movement after Notre Dame's dishonest president invited (and honored) our nation's pro-death president at last May's commencement, I still follow and root for Fighting Irish football. Indeed, while I respect those loyal sons who, after the ND-Obama debacle, decided to disassociate themselves from all things Notre Dame, I believe that the prayer and song offered
to Our Lady by Weis' charges before and after every game (which, thanks to some amazing comebacks, NBC is now showing to the nation along with QB Jimmy Clausen's dramatics), is proof enough that the team is still a great part of what is good and true at Notre Dame. And although the team's devotion (like its defense) is far from perfect, I believe its praying and playing can serve as inspiration for those of us who wish to lead the University of Notre Dame's comeback too.

For in these heady days of "Death Panels," government-paid (and sponsored) abortions, and Obama's dripping new "Hate Crimes" (or is it "Hate Catholics?") Bill, we have to get our inspiration any way we can. If the above quote from Mr. Kass' hilarious Halloween article is humorous exaggeration, he also knows the anti-administration blogs that have mysteriously disappeared since Barack signed this gay activist bill on the Feast of St. Jude is no laughing matter. And, since FIT tends to be the "Fox News" in the fight for Catholic orthodoxy, I realize that, while I might be the next blog to be banished, I too have to fight while I still can. For just as Beck and the boys have succeeded not only exposing Obama for the Messianic socialist that he is (not to mention forcing Barack into getting rid of a few of his more bizarre czars) Our Lady's loyal fighting writers have pressured Notre Dame into creating a new master's program in "Pro-Life Leadership," and have even humiliated the not-so-Holy Cross leader Jenkins into joining the Notre Dame pro-life coalition in the annual Roe v Wade protest march on Washington--and his friend, Obama.

Finally, I'd like to congratulate our pastor, Fr. Joseph Siegel, on his election to Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Joliet. Being a humble, faithful servant of Visitation Parish, he neither sought nor desired the position--which is no doubt precisely why Pope Benedict chose him. True, Father, you are only an auxiliary now, but many, including Bishop D'Arcy of South Bend (who, due to his age, never really had the strength to take on Jenkins) might soon be retiring. "Never wish [the bishop's office] upon me!" my brother, Father Bill O'Toole (echoing the words of Christ at Gethsemane) once warned me--and now I think you know why. For in these days of death and dissension, WWJD no longer just stands for "What Would Jesus Do," but what would John Kass and Jimmy Clausen and Joseph Siegel do--with your decisions now even more important than those of a national newspaper journalist or the quarterback of the Fighting Irish. But do not be afraid!

After all, it's not All Saint's Day for nothing.

Roeder was wrong: condemning Tiller's killer

2009-06-01T08:33:00.009-05:00

It was wrong—ironic and wrong on so many levels. Dr. George Tiller, the hardcore abortion doctor who killed so many babies (and a few women) worshiping in a so-called Christian church on one of the holiest days of the year, struck down by a single bullet, struck down so fast he seemingly had no time to repent. In the end, it was so like the unwed woman, realizing her unborn child came not from an act of love, tries to eradicate this sin by killing the baby, thus committing a greater evil.

Scott Roeder (expected to be charged today) was wrong. He could have followed Gandhi, who saved India from British Imperialism without a single bullet. He should have followed Martin Luther King, who finally freed the blacks from inequality without a single act of violence or brutality. And if these men weren't "Christian" enough, he needed to follow Christ, who when betrayed by a friend into the hands of violent men, instead said to Peter, "Put your sword away, for all who live by the sword shall die by the sword" (Matt. 27:52).

It was wrong, because by killing Tiller, Roeder left the path of life and lowered himself to their level. And by lowering himself to their level, Roeder became the enemy, for he was now one of (and one with) them.

Mary "marries" the Holy Spirit: will a "Pentecost Visitation" lead to bishop boldness?

2009-05-31T16:11:00.003-05:00

As a daily Mass Catholic who always pays close attention to feast and holy days, I am really intrigued when a "major" saint's feast day falls on a Sunday, and the Church celebrates a holy kind of "daily double." And speaking of major celebrations, what could be more magnificent than Our Lady's Visitation falling on the day of Pentecost?

In these dramatic days of end-times drama, where a great awakening of faithful laity daily battles the formidable forces of the Culture of Death, it cannot be a coincidence that Mary's visit of Elizabeth coincides with the Holy Spirit's visit to the apostles. For Elizabeth's acknowledgement that the babe leapt in her womb (Luke 1:40) in the presence of her holy kinswoman is the pro-life's proof that the child is already alive and kicking. Like the crowds who witnessed the apostles' bold "breakout" Pentecostal preaching, the unborn patiently await the day they can leave the womb, to see their Savior (in the Holy Eucharist) in person, and become baptized in His Holy Name.

Thus my wish and petition on this last day of the month of Mary and the first day of the 2009 summer of the Holy Spirit is this; that the true bishops of the Church, like their apostolic forefathers, go forth and boldly proclaim the Gospel of Life. May they both commend those who stay true to the Church's teaching against abortion, euthanasia and the other life issues, but also condemn (by first laicizing or withholding Communion, and finally excommunicating) those Catholic priests, teachers and politicians who don't.

Come Holy Spirit! Fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love!

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

A Song of Sue

2009-05-25T13:09:00.002-05:00

The following poem is from my Notre Dame college days, written about my first love. I had to revisit it for a term paper I'm doing for teacher certification (see The O'Toole Papers) and of course it brought the pain (and joy!) right back. Sue, if a search engine somehow hooks you up to this, I wish you once again, "The Greatest." –Tom

It was a day or two or so ago
Accompanied only by my radio
When I heard those songs so strong and sad
About a kind of love I too once had
And I remembered those days when love looked true
Just Sue and me and me and Sue
Til there seemed one thing left that I should do
I wrote a song of love of you

You weren't that cute; I don't know why
But somehow you sure caught my eye
Your smile perhaps, and now that I think
You also had one hell of a wink
You talked and laughed and played the game
So well I made damn sure I knew your name
And when you left, I followed you
"Hey; wait a second! Wait for me ... Sue."

You were a girl who did strange things
Wore bongs for bracelets, beer tabs for rings
You partied late and long and often
Were always smokin', and always coughin'
But many a moment your mood would mellow
And then it was magic to be your fellow
With the sky our roof and the grass our floor
I promised you all this and more

I'd ruin it too with worn out words
Like proverbs from out the mouths of nerds
For when you kissed me, I could not tell
My rhetoric was as trite as hell
For when you kissed me, I could not see
I'd lose sight of all but Sue and me
For when I held you then so close
I could forget; I could -- almost

For I woke up one misbegotten dawn
Awoke to find my Sue was gone
To find she wasn't my Sue at all
Sue couldn't fit in a space so small
I wanted her (some day) to be my wife
But I was just a long day in her short life
Note said she left me for no other man
She left me just "'cause I still can"

In the end, God was the only guy
With the guts to show my dream a lie
Sue was too young to look ahead that far
Still, when I look up and see that star
I'll ask, when you grow up my friend
Come back and be my girl again
Til then, my Sue is just a song
And all who remember will sing along

Tom

Saving Notre Dame: Looking back at Jenkins, Barack—and "the crying baby"

2009-05-23T12:44:00.035-05:00

In my last of a series of reflections on Barack Obama's Notre Dame appearance, I will focus on the speech itself and Fr. Jenkins' words (and lies) leading up to it. While many pro-lifers now seem sad that there was no one in the arena (save a few brave hecklers) to counter the cleverly deceiving abortion addresses by the priest and the president, I contend their lies were subtly undercut by the most poetically appropriate protestor possible—the cries of a baby.

As expected, many mainstream newspapers and online publications agreed with the Chicago Tribune's pro-Jenkins', "gotta love Obama" review of the event. After saying that Jenkins was unfairly "scorched for weeks by some [try over seventy!] bishops and members of the faith" for honoring Obama, this Tribune editorial added, "Jenkins spoke with passion about the Church's opposition to abortion, and about why Notre Dame was acting in the Catholic tradition when it invited the president and gave him an honorary degree," concluding, "Fr. Jenkins and Notre Dame in turn earned a great deal of respect." What the paper didn't say is that while Jenkins used cool Catholic papal quotes like John Paul II's "a Catholic university should be a primary and privileged place for a fruitful dialogue between the gospel and culture," and that the brave soul Obama came to Notre Dame, "though he knows full well that we are fully supportive of the Church's teaching on the sanctity of human life, and we oppose his policies on abortion and embryonic stem cell research," there was really no dialogue—or opposition—because Jenkins never said why the Church—or he—opposed them. And so when Obama gave his well-written, wonderfully delivered, and (to the average ill-informed student and viewer) highly believable pro-abortion/embryonic stem cell research commencement address, no one was there to "dialogue" except for three or four pro-life hecklers, who were swiftly and brutally hustled out of the stadium, if not the country (you see, Mr. President, there is a reason to keep Guantanamo open!) and they were gone long before phrases like, "Human life must be respected and protected from the moment of conception," and "every abortion is a gravely, moral evil ... the Church attaches the penalty of excommunication to ... formal cooperation to this crime" (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2270-2272), could be uttered.

But if these reasons aren't enough to explain why Father shouldn't have invited Obama to give Notre Dame's commencement (and why Jenkins should be excommunicated) let the Tribune and all fair-minded critics once again examine how this so-called respecter of "Catholic Tradition" and "the Church's teaching" totally ignored—then mocked—both of them to get the President of these Abortion States to come in the first place. Speaking of Church teaching, not only Catholics, but many non-Catholics are now aware, due to the Notre Dame decision, of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops' statement entitled, "Catholics in Political Life."

After saying that not only abortion is "always intrinsically evil and can never be justified [and] to make such intrinsically evil actions legal is itself wrong," they conclude with the rather staightforward teaching that "Catholic institutions should not honor [their emphasis] those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not [my emphasis] be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions." Now, if Father had read this statement and (openly) said, "To hell with those bishops! Having Obama here will bring me—and of course, the University—honor in the eyes of all those who really matter," and then invited him, I suppose I could at least have respected him as a man. Of course, Jenkins wouldn't have lasted long as University president then either, and, wanting to have it both ways, came up with the following plan. In order to justify himself, he said that he interpreted the bishops' statement about Catholic institutions not honoring pro-abortion politicians as only applying when the politicians were Catholic, since the document was called "Catholics in Political Life." Having taught grade school, I can assure you that the average fifth grader can tell you with complete confidence that in this case, the word "Catholic" describes the word right next to it, "institutions," and not the phrase up on top of the paper. So either Fr. Jenkins is not smarter than a fifth grader, or he is a complete and utter liar. Of course, the fact that Father Jenkins is less moral than the average fifth grader is beyond question; for any student knows that if they have any doubt about which answer is right or wrong, all they need do is ask their teacher, but rather than ask his own bishop the question, Jenkins instead said he found several lawyers (lawyers?!) who agreed with his decision. This point cannot be emphasized enough; while faithful Catholics know that ignoring your bishop is inexcusable, all men of good will must realize that justifying something with a lie is just plain wrong. In addition, since every Bible-believing Christian knows that Satan is "the father of lies" (John 8:44), they too would have a hard time believing that Jenkins' "un-truth" (I forgot that Homeland Security considers the word "liar" hate-speech!) was inspired by the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Speaking of John 8:44 ("When he tells a lie, he speaks in character,") Barack Obama's ND speech was as witty, welcoming ... and as full of baloney as we have come to expect. While there were a few parts of the talk I actually agreed with; for example, his admiration of intramural Irish basketball (the president actually would be a good fit on the "Barack O'Ballers" team) I, like most pro-lifers, was initially depressed that he delivered his pro-death speech at "the flagship Catholic university" virtually without a hitch. Yet, when he started talking about coming together about lessening abortions (which is, considering what his first 100 days' abortion record has been, a huge joke, although not the funny kind) I could have sworn I heard a baby cry. Wondering if it was my imagination, I later listened to the speech online, and I heard it again, coming almost at the exact time Obama began to promote abortion. "It wasn't us," said Randall Terry's Operation Rescue spokesman, Joe Landry. "The baby was legit." Indeed, while the timing was so perfect that I have a hard time believing it wasn't a recording, none of the various pro-life groups took responsibility. In the end, whether the cries came from a real baby, a well-placed sound system ... or heaven, doesn't really matter. What is important is that just as the thousands of peaceful (which included an alternate graduation for 26 pro-life Notre Dame seniors) and not so peaceful protests (over 40 arrests, including former Obama Senate opponent Alan Keyes and Norma "Ms. Roe v Wade" McCorvey) stole Obama's thunder outside, a single baby wrecked the president's messianic persona from within.

For just as an ultrasound dampens the desire to have an abortion for most would-be mothers, even the most impressive pro-choice speech doesn't sound quite right over the strains of a peacefully moaning infant. True, Barack's guys could erase the baby's cries off the official Internet sites (just as they did the Homeland Security report that called pro-lifers "terrorists") but I'm sure there are more than enough bootleg recordings to keep it alive forever. In the final analysis, the millions of prayers to Mary for Her University not only worked this wonder, but kept the campus' many Christian monuments and symbols from being covered up, while at the same time covering the president in robes that proclaimed Mary, the patroness of the pro-life movement, "Our Life, Sweetness, and Our Hope"—a minor miracle in itself. And so, though the war may be far from over, when the smoke cleared on the battlefield of this day of reckoning, it was Notre Dame, not Obama or Jenkins, who won over all.

Saving Notre Dame: Looking back at the CNN charade

2009-05-22T09:43:00.027-05:00

Having had time now to look back at the events leading up to, as well as President Barack Obama's actual appearance (or shall we say "performance") at the University of Notre Dame's graduation ceremony, I now feel a gradual hope growing out of a great sadness, a new life for the pro-life movement arising out of the shadow of death. And though much glory should be given to those brave adults who forsaked reputation to defend Mary's honor over Obama's onery honorary law degree that Fr. Jenkins unjustly awarded to Barack that fateful day, it was a cry from the mouth of a babe that seemed to lead the way ...

My personal multimedia defense of Our Lady began in earnest that Thursday, as the token conservative in the so-called balanced Notre Dame debate held on CNN.com. I'm not positive what those initials stand for, but after appearing on its "Blogger Bunch" segment, I'm pretty sure they stand for the "Christ Negation Network" or something to that effect. Honestly, I suppose some of the uneveness of the event was my own doing, for after being told I needed to have a Webcam to participate on the show, me and my wife, Jeanette, scrambled around town at nine o'clock that morning trying to find one compatible to our home computer, only to find out after hooking it up that our machine would explode into the blue "warning!" screen whenever my face appeared on camera. Deducing even my dubious mug was not ugly enough to cause such a violent technological reaction, the "doubting Thomas" in me figured this was an ominous omen of the dire things to come. "Obama's going to drop all pretenses Sunday, arrest all the Notre Dame protestors, and declare himself 'King of the World!'" I thought as both our labrador and the CNN cameraman barked out instructions in an attempt to make my face reappear, all to no avail. Finally it was showtime, and the lone voice of reason that day would have to be just a voice.

Asked why, when the majority of Catholics supported Obama, that I believed the president should not speak at Notre Dame, I replied that 'There is a recent bishops' statement that [forbids] Catholic universities from awarding honors or allowing a platform to speak to politicians who oppose the Catholic Church's views on human rights, which of course includes abortion. Fr. Jenkins directly disobeyed this [statement] and since Catholicism is a religion where obedience is required, this [disobedience] is a serious thing." Due to my less than ideal preparation for this event, I did not have the bishops' statement that I eluded to ("Catholics in Political Life") in front of me, so I could not quote from it directly. Still, given the format, one wonders if this really made a difference. For while I may not have been my most articulate, my lapsed Catholic opponent, a liberal blogger named Gina Cooper, did not exactly come off as highly literate by referring to the Web site NotreDameScandal.com as "BigFatFakeScandal.com." She then tried to justify her disobedience and cover up the truth by citing soggy statistics of all the Catholic "Cheasters" and other cheaters who supported Obama, ending her rather lengthy propagandizing by proclaiming Obama as the fulfillment of Matthew 25, one who will "feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, and administer to the sick." Then, after talking to another pro-Obama blogger, a black woman, Lola Adesioye, who knew nothing about Catholicism or Notre Dame, the smug and smirking Christ negating hosts piled on another half dozen or so anti-Catholic viewer comments (along with the words of one pro-life mother who they more or less mocked) before they returned to the man who was blacked out in more ways than one.

After reminding Gina that in Matthew 25 Jesus also states "whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me," I warned the panel that since unborn babies "are obviously the least of his brothers, murdering them is not a good sign for our society." Then, turning to the host's slanted question about Notre Dame inviting the "death penalty" presidents, I agreed that while in almost every circumstance, the death penalty is condemned by the Church, there is almost "a complete difference between killing an innocent baby and someone who has committed a heinous crime." It was here that Gina's response somewhat surprised me, for there was actually some cleverness mixed in with her deviousness. Rather than denying abortion was murder, Gina answered angelically, "In my heart ... I do believe that a baby is a perfectly innocent life, but ... this is not really consistent with Catholic teaching, which says [because of] original sin we are not born innocent and we have to get babtized immediately." As you probably have guessed, CNN did not give me a chance to counter this henious half-truth, merely letting go several more democratic digs designed to make me look like a moron before signing off on the subject. Thus, unable to put me down merely with its usual bias, CNN had to kill Fighting Irish Thomas' message by concluding the segment with a lie.

It is interesting to note that, while in her opening statement Ms. Cooper seems to consider herself a good Catholic despite ignoring several Catholic doctrines, she ends her segment by suggesting she must not really be a Catholic because she disagrees with Catholic dogma. In reality, while the dogma of original sin is somewhat complex, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church does teach that "the transmission of original sin is a mystery that we cannot fully understand" (CCC 404), Cooper severely (if not deliberately) twists the part of the teaching that is known to justify her position. For example, while the Church does say that baptism "erases original sin and turns man back to God" (CCC405), it also states that it "is called 'sin' only in an analogical sense; it is not a sin committed ... and does not have the character of a personal fault." And while Cooper is correct in implying that the Church urges infants to be soon baptized, since it "does not know of any means other than baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude" (CCC 1257), the Church not only "allows hope of salvation for children that died without baptism" (CCC1261) but "has always held the firm conviction that those who suffered death for the sake of the faith" (CCC1258) without baptism—a category many now conclude includes those who have died through abortion—will go to heaven. But if Ms. Cooper is truly worried about the aborted's eternal fate, as the doctrine does seem to still leave at least a little room for doubt, would this not be all the more reason to allow the children to be born—and baptized?

In the end, the mock debate held on CNN that Thursday was merely a foreshadowing of the pseudo-dialogue the demigods staged at Notre Dame last Sunday. But what then to make of the baby, whose voice now forever challenges Obama's?

Saving Notre Dame: Promises from Our Lady of Fatima

2009-05-13T10:34:00.033-05:00

Do you want to offer yourselves to God, to endure all the sufferings He may allow, as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended and as a supplication for the conversion of sinners? --Our Lady of Fatima

Although Notre Dame, because of its French founding fathers and grotto, is usually associated with Our Lady of Lourdes, the above words, spoken by Our Lady of Fatima to three young shepherd children on May 13, 1917, could be taken as the rallying cry for the faithful who hope to avail on Our Lord to prevail in the "commencement of evil" scheduled at Our Lady's university just four days from now. And while the prayer of the Fatima faithful helped bring about the famed "Miracle of the Sun," I believe that if enough people pray in 2009, it will bring about an equally amazing miracle of "the bishop who did act."

Ninety-two years ago, it was three young children, aged seven to ten, who were Our Lady of Fatima's foot soldiers in the war against the secular rulers of Portugal and the godless forces of the early 20th century. Today, the places of the youth are taken by the likes of Randall Terry, Alan Keyes, and other Operation Rescuers who, like Fatima's Lucia, Francisco, and Juanita, are getting arrested for the sake of His Name and Her Message. But while as many souls as the Spirit dictates should descend upon South Bend to follow in Dr. Keyes' and Mr. Terry's footsteps, everybody can pray. It is not by coincidence that Real Catholic TV's Michael Voris told us that the Vatican itself is on the verge of stepping in to stop the South Bend sacrilege ... but at the same time urged viewers to say the full twenty decades of the rosary for Notre Dame so that the prelates don't lose their nerve. For just as Mary urged the Fatima children,"Say the rosary every day to earn peace for the world and the end of war," She urges us today to pray for peace in the Church and the end of the Catholic campus' war on young men's souls—which leads them to destroy even younger souls before their bodies are even born.

In Bud McFarlane's 1995 novel, Pierced by a Sword, the world was saved when Pope Patrick (the first Irish pope!) celebrated Mass at Notre Dame at the precise moment the forces of an atheistic world dictatorship were about to take over our country. On May 17th, that moment (that Satan is poised to capture the Church in America) is truly at hand; may we all, young and old, pray that our present Pope Benedict (in conjuntion with South Bend bishop, John D'Arcy) act at Notre Dame and save our Church—and our country—for real.

Saving Notre Dame: My Dialogue with D'Arcy

2009-05-11T10:09:00.027-05:00

Bishop D'Arcy
Fort Wayne Chancery
1103 S. Calhoun Street
Fort Wayne, IN 46801

Dear Bishop D'Arcy,

First, I'd like to congratulate you for speaking out against Fr. Jenkins' outrageous decision to invite the prolifically pro-abortion president, Barack Obama, to give the commencement speech at Notre Dame, as well as your work with the NDResponse students to arrange a pro-life Mass and (hopefully) massive campus pro-life protest during the festivities. Please know, Bishop, that while I would not personally agree to the part about "no graphic images are to be used during the demonstration," I would never underestimate the power of prayer, and I'm always happy to see it visibly present in the face of undeniable evil. Still, in the face of such abominable disobedience to both yourself and the Church, I think that you know in your heart of hearts that one thing more is required of you.

For on the surface, Bishop D'Arcy, you seem almost as upset with the actions of the "activist" pro-lifers (led by the relentless Randall Terry) as with Jenkins' "crass act" and junky justification of it. As an Irishman, I can certainly see how Terry's comparing your mild Good Friday letter in support of Jenkins to St. Peter's Good Friday denial(s) of Christ would get your dander up. However, by denying Terry his right to visible (if alarming) protests, you are unwittingly throwing your lot in with snitty, politically-correct, pro-life writers like Jill Stanek, who sneered, "I don't like the dolls and fake blood business ... [and] getting arrested ... is so 1990s." Well, Jill, then what is fine for 2009? "Battle of the Pro-Life Bloggers?" "Bishop Trivia?" ("For ten points and four fifty-yard seats to the Notre Dame-Southern Cal game, name 15 of the 65 bishops who criticized Fr. Jenkins for his 2009 commencement invitation of President Obama to ND! And, for 20 bonus points—and a date with the captain of the Trojan cheerleaders—name two bishops who supported Jenkins' move ...") And so, while Randall's inflammatory rhetoric, which included the zinger "D'Arcy has stepped beyond his canonical authority by urging the faithful to abandon the babies—and thereby abandon Christ ..." might initially have you agreeing with Stanek that "I frankly wish Randall Terry would go away," it's difficult for me to disagree with pro-life organizers like Mary Lewis, who claimed, "Randall's letter shamed D'Arcy" into finally firing off a fiery letter of your own—to Jenkins. In it, Bishop D'Arcy, you rightly warned the wayward ND president of Our Lady's University to "withdraw your erroneous talking points," [and] "heal the terrible breach which has taken place between the Church and Notre Dame ... through prayer and action." But, if Jenkins fails to act, what will you (who pledged "I will do my part") do?

Sure, you can pray that when the band plays and the students sing "Shake Down the Thunder" as Obama enters the stage to shake hands with Jenkins, the Lord takes this opportunity to take the words literally, and splits open the roof (and the two presidents) with a righteous lightning bolt. Or, you can hope the pope issues an eleventh-hour order of excommunication of Jenkins if he allows Obama to speak. However, unless this May 17th is indeed the end times, God does not usually make such an intrusion into our free will, and with Rome's once orthodox newspaper L'Osservatore Romano now making incredible statements supporting some abortions or claiming Obama's policies are "in support of motherhood," it appears that Benedict has enough problems of his own at home. No, Bishop, this issue with Jenkins is your "baby" (or your bloody fetus as the case may be) and your time of decision is drawing near.

And, just as I cannot discipline my children solely with words, history shows you cannot correct such a substantial division only with prayer. True, Mother Teresa's Sick and Suffering Servants' constant prayer for the mission of the Missionaries of Charity was a key to their success, but they would not have transformed the lives of so many poor without Mother and the healthy sisters takin' Christ to the streets. Similarly, Pope St. Pius V (who according to legend held out his hands in blessing during the entire battle) and thousands of devout rosary reciters deserve much credit for the great Catholic naval victory at Lepanto in 1571, so do General Don Juan and his heroic underdog forces who turned the infidel Turks away from the Eternal City. And finally, while prayer probably played no greater part in any Fighting Irish victory (where literally thousands of Irish fans wrote the University afterwards, each claiming their rosary did the trick) than Notre Dame's 1935 come-from-behind, two-touchdowns-in-two-minutes victory over Ohio State, Bill Shakespeare still had to throw that last second pass, and Wayne Millner still had to catch it, for it to become "The Game of the Century."

In reality, Bishop D'Arcy, you have many positive options, several of which would be decisive. If Jenkins refuses his one last chance to disinvite the president, you could take away the Catholic charter of Notre Dame. And while that would certainly send a message, it would also have a disheartening effect on the many faithful students and faculty, as well as the subway alumni who worship at the Basilica or the Grotto. Actually, this seems more like a high noon showdown between you and Jenkins, where the rebel reverend must be either excommunicated or laicized (the more likely choice, since his disobedience does not involve dogma) to be stopped.

In this classic chess match between good and evil, Jenkins has made the bold first move, and you too must be bold, utilizing more than pawns to counter. Otherwise, you, the Bishop, will soon be blocked in, and the Queen (Notre Dame) will easily be captured. With Her gone, the King (Our Lord) will soon be removed, and while He will surely someday return, you can only imagine the pain it will cause Christ to be discarded at a place once dedicated to His Mother.

As my final plea, your Excellency, I leave you with the words of Notre Dame graduate Lacy Dodd, who ten years ago, pregnant and abandoned by her ND boyfriend who urged her to abort their baby, sat through her disillusioning doctor's appointment before returning to the Grotto and making the right decision. "Father John Jenkins ... Who draws support from your decision to honor President Obama—the young, pregnant Notre Dame woman sitting in that graduating class who wants desperately to keep her baby, or the Notre Dame man who believes that the Catholic teaching on the intrinsic evil of abortion is just dining-room talk?"

It's your move, Bishop. We are all praying that you make the right one.

God's grace & Mary's prayers,
Tom O'Toole

Saving Notre Dame: The "Keyes" to Sending the Lyin' McBrien Flyin'

2009-04-14T14:19:00.010-05:00

Recently on FOX News I saw Kathleen Donahue, Notre Dame student and head of Notre Dame Right to Life, fend off questions about Obama's upcoming visit. And, while unlike CNN or ABC, the news anchors were generally sympathetic, she still had to answer to a rather nasty liberal comment attributed to none other than Notre Dame's noted theological dissident, Fr. Richard "The Lyin'-Hearted" McBrien. And while Ms. Donahue debunked Father's drivel (McBrien flippantly claimed the flap over Obama's speech was only due to a few "fringe far-right Republicans who were still sore that McCain lost") with more dignity than it deserved, it reminded me once again how enthralled the MSM is with this menace of theology, and how crucial to the quest of saving Notre Dame his banishment from the University truly is.

It was back in the early '80s when then ND President Fr. Ted Hesburgh, having recently tricked Pope Paul VI (the Pope shared Hesburgh's love for the space program, and after partying on wine, champagne and bourbon one night while watching NASA filmstrips, Paul thought Hesburgh was his trusted friend) into letting his band of liberals write the document on Catholic academic freedom virtually unchecked by the Vatican, hired the horrific heretic McBrien to head Notre Dame's Theology Department. Fresh from publishing his critically acclaimed (acclaimed, that is, by every noted critic of the Church) comprehensive encyclopedic explanation of the Church, simply entitled Catholicism, McBrien on the surface appeared to be the perfect Fighting Irish faith fit. That is, until one actually read it. After being stunned by passages that suggested the Immaculate Conception wasn't really taught infallibly, but an affair of Jesus with Mary Magdalene was a distinct possibility, I wrote shortly after my graduation from the University, in a magazine called Fidelity, "But McBrien's doctrine of 'selective obedience' is like being faithful to your wife only when your sexy secretary is out of town; in other words, it isn't obedience at all. If McBrien truly believes this way, I can only conclude that he and his cronies will eventually split from Rome and, as the pope of the new American Catholic Church, surround himself with a bevy of women bishops who will selectively listen."

It is now more than a quarter of a century since O'Brien invaded Notre Dame, and as dire as my predictions were then, I am writing now to sadly inform you all that something far worse has happened. Sure, the National Council of Catholic Bishops almost immediately condemned huge sections of Catholicism, and Notre Dame gave McBrien a slap on the wrist by demoting him from Head of Theology to a Department Chair. But all the while he was allowed to stay, winning media friends and influencing gullible students along the way. By the time his third edition (with revisions ordered by the bishops) of Catholicism arrived in 1994, it almost didn't matter that the bishops condemned this volume also (saying in part "not only has McBrien failed to correct previously noted ambiguities, but he has introduced new ones ... on a number of important issues, the reader will see without difficulty that the book regards the official Church position as simply in error") for the damage had been done. McBrien had not only gained a foothold of theological power, but his alternative church was already in place.

To put in simple terms, McBrien's new theology stated that, after Vatican II, the Catholic Church's teaching was only valid (or infallible) when it agreed with the "concensus of theologians"... including the Protestant ones! In reality, McBrien was countering the Magisterium with his own "para-magisterium" which the late great Fr. Richard John Neuhaus quipped consisted of "Fr. McBrien and others whom he recognizes as belonging to his sacred college of academic theologians." If he was still with us, surely Fr. Neuhaus, the noted Catholic convert from Lutheranism, could point out that this was Luther revisited—with an important twist. For whereas Luther split off from the Church to spread his new theology, Fr. McBrien cleverly hid his new deviant church within it. And, while whether or not Luther's split was good for Christian unity is the topic of another story, the fact is that McBrien's secret deviance is much more dangerous. For while dubious morals gave Luther an excuse to change theology, devout theology motivated McBrien to change morals. And, as the story of Adam and Eve shows decisively, "shadow morality" is something the soul cannot long survive.

Still, the fact McBrien has not just survived but thrived is a tribute to his subtlety. Obama, as did Hitler, advocates a Culture of Death. But what Hitler did with a rant, Obama does with a smile. Similarly, whereas Luther proclaimed the Pope to be "the Antichrist" and predicted the Catholic Church would fall in his lifetime, McBrien merely hinted that John Paul's "ultraconservative" bishops left him "out of touch with reality," while whispering "some of my liberal friends just say he was a disaster." You might even say that slight of hand and shift of blame is the trademark of McBrien's reign. For example, while playing the role of "Catholic Church expert" on ABC's Primetime Live during The Da Vinci Code debacle, Father first noted the Church's insistence that Jesus was single, and thus seemed to be in agreement with Church doctrine. But moments later, when asked about the DC's take that Christ married Mary Magdalene, McBrien added, "If Jesus was married ... it was obviously to her."

And, as his own volume Catholicism has effectively replaced The Catechism of the Catholic Church as the teaching authority of the new Notre Dame para-magisterium, McBrien and his minions are free to make their own counter-rulings on Church statements—including Jenkins' kooky conclusion that the Bishops 2004 prohibition of pro-choice politicians to speak at Catholic universities excluded Obama ... because Obama wasn't Catholic. Never mind that the bishops who wrote the document said that this interpretation is bogus, or that the average fifth-grader could show you the pronoun "Catholic" referred to the University, not the politician. Yes, in any other era, such a lie would be laughable, yet after Obama looked the nation in the eye and lied he would work to lessen abortions—and the Catholicism clan BELIEVED him—I find little to laugh at lately.

But it's one thing to identify our new Antipope, Richard the Worst, to show that he is the cancer in this Church's body; it's quite another to destroy this cancer without killing the body along with it. WWJD is the question in every case of this spiritual magnitude, but in this specific trial, WWTD (What would [Randall] Terry do; this "TD" does NOT refer to "Touchdown Jesus") must be employed. Sources have it that Mr. Terry has Mr. Alan Keyes arriving in South Bend Thursday to lead a chorus of pro-life protest, but for McBrien to permanently go flyin' it must be something more. Shouting at the city gates or even picketing Fr. McBrien's Tues./Thurs. Theology class is not a bad start, but for Keyes to hold the key, Alan would have to enter the class and challenge the wayward professor to a one-on-one debate. "The True Church vs. the 'new church,'" Alan's "'Keyes' to the Kingdom" vs. Richard's "Highway to"... well, you know the rest.

It would be, as they say at ESPN, an "Instant Classic," and while McBrien really has nothing to gain at Notre Dame, his great ego might persuade him that he cannot lose. And yet, if McBrien took the bait-and lost, his credibilty would fly away like an untied balloon, and his "church" go the way of the Studebaker; not just because Keyes is a great (and Truthful) debater, but because Alan knows that Jesus would never allow McBrien to take His Mother down with him. And, with McBrien gone, and Jenkins once again in hiding, Obama would no longer risk a South Bend visit. For the Light reflecting off the Dome would once again be shining, and it's too hard to lie when you squint.

The Blood of the Young Patriots

2009-04-12T05:43:00.005-05:00

In remembrance of abortion's helpless victims, I am submitting my poem "The Blood of the Young Patriots," written shortly after 9-11, for your Easter consideration. May the souls of the unborn also rise with Christ, and may we never tire of proclaiming that their present safety is intimately tied to America's future greatness.

+++

“God Bless America” reads the merchant’s marquees
For as far and wide as the eye can see
And on the road, “Old Glory’s” being bought and sold
At some stands for near the price of gold

But before I bow to pay my respects
There are a few facts on which I first must reflect
For until I do I just cannot rave
About a flag that I’m now forced to wave

Do you recall how the law of “supply and demand”
Routed our native Americans from their own land?
Or how blacks were bought and sold as slaves
And slaughtered if as “equals” they dared behave

Or in WWII, our Japanese citizens sent to prison
Their lands confiscated, their rights in derision
As for my ancestors? Their old photos do not lie
Shop signs back then declared, “No Irish need apply”

“But Tom, you speak now about all our old ills
Corrected by the strength of our collective wills
Those prejudices are now a part of our past,”
To which I reply to my friend, “Not so fast —

Mother Teresa warned me our country will never be great
Until we stop killing our unborn at such a grand rate”
“Whoa! I’m afraid that you ... are now assumin’
That those ... creatures ... are ... already HUMAN

Surely it can’t be that bad ... I mean, after all —”
“Why? Because these babies don’t scream when their bodies fall?”
I tell you these helpless young patriots DO feel
And I proclaim that their blood is just as real

And though I shed tears for the victims of the terrorist threats
I mourn with extra grief over their young deaths
For unlike the suicide flights those foreigners had flown
Their abortions were brought on by some of our own

But if my prophesies still strike you as somewhat suspect
For they are far from being politically correct
I hope now, at least, that you can understand
Why I do not wave the flag upon demand

Still, I pray that the day is not yet lost
When I can wave the flag as proudly as I now wear the Cross
And I will again give glory to the “Stars and Stripes”
The moment our Young Patriots regain their rights

Tom O’Toole
November 13, 2001
The Feast of Mother Cabrini

Saving Notre Dame: "Terry" On! Our Leader Needs a Fighter

2009-04-08T14:49:00.029-05:00

"What's the matter with you guys? You're all Irish and you're not fighting!"

–Notre Dame halfback Pete Vaughan's 1909 halftime speech vs. Michigan; also the alleged origin of the "Fighting Irish" nickname.

When Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue, and perhaps the premiere culture warrior in the crusade against abortion, says that Fr. Jenkins' invitation (and Barack Obama's acceptance) to give the commencement speech at the University of Notre Dame instantly made South Bend ground zero in the battle against abortion, it's impossible for a former Golden Domer to not stand up and take notice. And, since this most illustrious advocate of the unborn is adamant that you can't wage this war solely in cyberspace, I hopped a train to his Tuesday protest in Chicago to personally see exactly what break-Barack and jinks-Jenkins strategy the master had in mind.

Of course, it's fashionable to call the man whose life has been threatened, who has been imprisoned, and has lost his house, money and "even my frequent flyer miles!" due to his pro-life efforts, "controversial," but that's just another mainstream media myth. For example, Terry's arranging to have an aborted fetus shipped to Bill Clinton at the 1992 Democratic Convention was not terroristic but patriotic, and his recent "Resignation Letter of Rev. John I. Jenkins CSC," is not impertinent but polite, for, since it requires only the busy president's signature, it will save the harried priest time in both composing and typing.

But seriously, it would initially seem to the outside observer (as well as to THE Observer, the ND student newspaper) that Tuesday's protests were not among Randall's shining moments. First, only half a hundred anti-abortion backers showed for the 'Stop Obama at Notre Dame' downtown demonstration in front of the office of Notre Dame's chairman of the board, Richard C. Notebaert. And, to top it off, Notebaert didn't even deem us (by now I had picked up a sign myself) noteworthy enough to deal with in person, instead saying through a spokesman that not only was the "Baert Man" not there, but he had moved his office to another location!

Whether Notebaert's front man was truthful or not was debatable, but in any event, we moved on to our next protest destiny, the headquarters of Aztech Foods, where its president (and Notre Dame trustee), Arthur R. Velasquez, resided. And, despite the fact that only thirteen of us (Terry and his twelve apostles of protest?) made the trek to this extreme outpost of the Windy City, Randall said this trip was our most fruitful, as Velasquez turned out to be a real pro-lifer himself, and now promised us to do everything he could within the Board to promote our position. "At least we now have one of them on our side!" exclaimed Terry, and, after praising God for our victory, turned his attention to me.

"Tom O'Toole, Notre Dame Class of '81!" I said to Terry while reaching to shake his hand.

"The 'POPE Project' guy?" asked Terry, getting right to the point.

"And 'Fighting Irish Thomas' too!" I added, as only a starving Catholic author can.

"I ... hey, walk with me to the car," said Terry, killing two birds with one stone. "Tom, I need a connection on campus ... do you know any students who will fight this thing, who will work to keep Obama from coming?"

"What about ______ or _________ ?" I asked, naming several students involved in NDResponse, the official student anti-Obama protest group.

"No," said Terry, shaking his head. "All they're asking is that Obama not get an honorary degree," he added. "Basically, they've already caved in to what the administration wants. I need someone who will stand up and fight, who will do more than just have a friendly discussion."

I thought about the first chapter in Terry's prophetic book A Humble Plea, in which he told a futuristic tale where the opposition was now killing not babies, but bishops. One mild-mannered bishop, the next to be knocked off, is given a Dickensesque view of what the reaction to his killing will be. To his horror, his parishioners dismiss the frenzied member who holds up his former leader's bloody picture and exhorts about "bishop killing" and "murder," and instead approves of the message of the calm, tastefully dressed woman who says a short prayer and passes out a "Bishop's Untimely Removal Pin" to everyone as the solution. "So Randall wants fighters, not 'BURPers,'" I thought to myself.

"Yes, just as a war needs nurses and ammunition makers, we need people who petition and pray," Terry continued, "but for this war to succeed, we need someone on the front lines who is not afraid of battle. If you could get me even one student who could go between us and the other students ... I know we can win."

Well, students of Our Lady, you heard the man. According to Coach Terry, we have plenty of fans and cheerleaders ... and even a few players on the bench. If you have the courage to go over the middle against Obama, or the zeal to run down the field to stop Jenkins, then you are the man—or woman—Coach is looking for. For now is not merely the moment to honor our school's Name. It is time to live up to Her nickname as well.

If any Notre Dame students would like to work with Mr. Terry, please contact me—or his office ASAP. Of course, comments or volunteers from the alums or "subway alumni" are welcome too!

Saving Notre Dame: Mary Ann Glendon, Our Lady's "Secret Weapon?"

2009-04-04T14:35:00.037-05:00

"Magna est veritas et prevalebit." (Truth is great and it will prevail.)

–The motto on Notre Dame's Laetare Medal

"So do you think this is the photo Nancy Pelosi taped her head over to prove she saw the Pope?" my wife kidded me about this article's picture of Pope Benedict XVI and Mary Ann Glendon, former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican and current Harvard law professor, not to mention this year's recipient of the University of Notre Dame's Laetare Medal, ND's highest award for Catholics. While her picture with the Pope is proof that Professor Glendon, dubbed "the pro-life feminist" by the secular press, was, unlike Pelosi (whom His Holiness resolutely refused to grant even the briefest photo-op to, lest it be construed as acceptance of the speaker's heretical Catholic stances and thus lead to scandal), in good standing with the Holy See, does that mean she will stand up for the Faith when she takes the stage almost immediately before Obama during next month's controversial commencement at Notre Dame?

With the President's acceptance of Fr. Jenkins' disobedient (and disgusting) Notre Dame commencement invitation, Glendon's appearance has been completely overshadowed, and her speech and award (which is actually more prestigious than Obama's honorary law degree), an afterthought. Despite her impressive credentials (former President of the Pontifical Academy of Science, member of the President's Council of Bioethics, as well as distinguished author, professor and ambassador), Jenkins and his henchmen no doubt consider her no more than a warm-up act, a local folk singer compared to Obama, the rock star leader of the free world. Yet, sometimes, in rare but pivotal moments in history, "when the players tried to take the field, the marching band refused to yield ..."

Certainly, as perhaps this country's (and this university's) most calculated President(s) ever, the evil cabal of Obama and Jenkins carefully chose Glendon as a sage but safe academic, who really couldn't make waves even if she tried. In other words, if she somehow raised the spectre of abortion in her speech, it would be couched in such lofty academic terms that her meaning would go over the students' and parents' heads. For example, while Glendon's insights (from her book Abortion and Divorce in Western Law: American Failures and European Challenges), "The challenge for religious leaders is to motivate their followers to meet others on the plane of reason and mutual respect, while remaining true to their own beliefs," and, "Not only do we have less regulation of abortion in the interest of the fetus than any other nation, we provide less public support for maternity and child raising," show promise, they are a far cry from Mother Teresa's National Prayer Breakfast unequivocal pro-life zingers. Which gives me a great idea for Ms. Glendon ...

Professor, what if you were to incorporate some of Mother Teresa's speech into your Laetare acceptance talk? How better to "dialogue" (Jenkins' own word) Obama, than with Mother Teresa's gold standard (or shall we say "God standard") pro-life speech, at the "flagship" of Catholic universities? With a glance toward Jenkins, you could start with Mother's stark, "The greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against children, a direct killing of an innocent child, a murder by the mother herself." Then, with a nod to Obama, you could continue with the future saint's assessment, "Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use violence to get what they want." Looking to the students, you could then explain Teresa's treatise that contraception "destroys the power of giving life" and "turns attention away from each other and to self," where, with the addition of abortion, it teaches man "he does not have to take responsibility," and woman "to kill her own child to solve a problem" leading to the "destruction of their love for each other." Then after echoing Mother's plea, "Please don't kill this child! I want this child!" you could conclude with an Irish paraphrase of her battle cry, "Let Notre Dame be a sign of care for the weakest of the weak—the unborn child—to the world! If you let Notre Dame—and America—become a burning light of justice and peace in the world ... [through them] then you will really be true to what the founders of this country—and university—stood for!"

Now you couldn't really get in trouble for giving that speech, could you, Mary Ann? After all, you are not addressing this dueling, fooling presidential duo with the Glendon agenda, but merely quoting the words of a former Nobel Prize winner, a proper prophet club of which even the great global warmer himself, Albert Gore, is a member. Of course, your presents to Obama (a picturesque plaque for Sasha and Malia's playroom bearing the Mother Teresa saying, "It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish," plus for his office, a framed picture of the White House with an aborted live baby at the door, bearing the caption, "There's someone here to see you, Mr. President,") and Jenkins' (an autographed—by each and every bishop!—copy of their 2004 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops statement, Catholics in Political Life, which ruled against Catholic universities extending invitations or granting honors to pro-choice politicians, plus a photo of you shaking hands with Bishop D'Arcy in front of Notre Dame's "Our Lady of the Unborn" statue, in which the Bishop writes on back, "Sorry I couldn't be there today/Your favorite bishop/John D'Arcy/P.S. You're laicized! Turn in your vestments!") might be another story. Most likely, Notre Dame would ban you forever (or at least until the faculty returns to Our Lady) and Harvard could give you the heave ho. But think of this, Ms. Glendon. Like the martyrs, you'll go out in a blaze of glory, and more importantly, you will be the answer to all of our Notre Dame commencement prayers. For you will prove that, despite Obama's insolence and Jenkins' infidelity, "Truth is great and it will prevail."

Saving Notre Dame: My Letter to Pope Benedict

2009-04-01T14:47:00.025-05:00

"But don't you think people who hate Notre Dame can't accept this notion that so many Notre Dame players and fans say that praying to God helps the team to play better, and, in many cases, to win?" I asked Coach Holtz.

"I don't think God cares who wins a football game," Holtz stated, then paused just long enough to let you know something was up. "But I do think His Mother does," he added with a wink.

Most Holy Father,

The above quote is from a book (Champions of Faith: Catholic Sports Heroes Tell Their Stories) which I wrote several years ago and which your predecessor, John Paul the Great, so graciously placed on the shelves of the Vatican Library when he started the Pontifical Council of Church and Sports a few years ago. In a whimsical way, it illustrates why so many devout alumni (I myself am a 1981 graduate) and "subway alumni" feel so strongly about Notre Dame—and why we feel Fr. Jenkins' disobedient and disloyal invitation to President Barack Obama to receive an honorary degree and give the commencement speech there, is an affront to Our Lady Herself. And, since this action means the very name of Our Lady is at stake, I regretfully submit this situation to your personal attention.

With over a billion Catholics, thousands of priests and religious, and hundreds of bishops under your care, I'm sure that usually the issue of a renegade reverend overstepping his authority is best left to the local bishop (or bishops) to handle. But in this case, not only has N.D. President Fr. Jenkins dissed his diocesan bishop (John M. D'Arcy) and ignored the clear teaching of the whole Council of Catholic Bishops by inviting an ultra pro-abortion leader whom the noted Catholic novelist Michael O'Brien says carries the potential to become the Antichrist, he has also brought the University students to shame and the country's Catholics (as well as non-Catholic Notre Dame supporters) to scandal. Still, why intervene here, when there are Catholic universities (such as Ave Maria or Steubenville) far more faithful to the Church's teachings, and others (like Catholic University) with closer ties to the Vatican? Because, despite its many failings, Notre Dame is still, as Cardinal Francis George would say, "the flagship Catholic university [in the country],"—and you may be the only one left with the power to save it.

Your Holiness, I see three basic reasons why Notre Dame must be rescued at this present time from this current situation. First, Notre Dame is without question the most visible Catholic university, with by far the biggest Catholic platform—which is exactly why glory-seeker Obama desires to scale it. Yes, Jenkins' predecessors have sometimes traded Truth for beauty to get to this position of prestige, but that is all the more reason you cannot let this final deadly deal with the enemy go down. Secondly, because of Blessed Basil Anthony Moreau's (the Holy Cross founder's) saintliness and Fr. Edwin Sorin's persistence, Notre Dame, with it's Golden Dome, Gothic Cathedral, Grotto, and countless statues of Christ and the Saints, has become a bona fide worldwide Marian shrine. So on the one hand, for authorities to simply declare Notre Dame no longer Catholic because of a faulty faculty is like saying Lourdes is no longer a place of miracles because it has a pompous PR person; to have a Holy City run by unholy leaders (as Rome was during the era of Alexander VI or Leo X) is certainly a source of confusion, if not scandal. Finally, while it may not be as universal as during the days of Rockne and Leahy, there are still millions of youths who, at least initially, look up to the University because of its sports teams—they "worship" the Fighting Irish heroes en route to a deeper Christian identity. Will not the invitation, invocation, and symbolic (through awarding the President an honorary law degree) coronation of Obama send a message to the children of the Notre Dame nation that they should now idolize the unborn baby-butcher Barack?

While declaring his disgust with Jenkins' decision, Cardinal George also said that, despite the fact he is President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, he has no direct authority in this matter, adding, "you just don't do that [disinvite the president]." He can't, Your Holiness, but YOU can. Although you are the complete opposite of Obama; a soul who sought to flee this position of power rather than pursue it by every method (just or unjust) possible, God has nonetheless entrusted you with this greatest of authority for a reason. As perhaps the only man on earth with more authority than this present President of the United States, you are the only one left who can legitimately stop him. He has already risen to great power in America; please do not let him enhance his near invincible image by capturing Notre Dame. Thank you for your time; as Notre Dame's loyal son and your faithful servant, I humbly await your decision.

God's grace and Mary's prayers,

Tom O'Toole

P.S. If you ever make it out to South Bend, I'll treat you to a football game!

Saving Notre Dame: The Impact of Youth and Rockne

2009-03-31T00:01:00.006-05:00

"In the past generation, it was Buffalo Bill. For this generation, it was Knute Rockne. The boy had a great respect for Rockne, and Rockne for the boy. Each read the other's mind, and they were heroes to each other. Millions of boys (and men, girls and women) bow in grief at the news that Rockne is dead, because for millions he was greater than the president."
–Cleveland Free Press

Reflecting on the anniversary (3-31-31) of the tragic death of the immortal Fighting Irish football coach, Knute Rockne, and on the lesson his legacy could teach us in light of the current Notre Dame-Obama invitation situation, one facet of his heroic life stood out among all the others. For while my Top Ten Eulogy Telegram List will give you a good glimpse of the impact Rockne's life and sudden death (perishing in a plane crash at the age of 42) had not only upon football fans, but the whole nation, I've rewritten #4 because I believe it was Knute's relationship with youth that best summarizes what "Rock" gave to Notre Dame, and best depicts what the school now lacks—and must get back—to successfully resist the invasion of Barack ...

More than for any other coach in history, it could be said that Rockne and his boys positively affected one another. With the football team it was obvious; not only did Rockne (whose 105-12-5 record is still the best winning percentage in college football history) have a stellar impact on his lads both on the field and off, but his players' devotion to their faith (Rock marveled at how they attended early morning Mass even during the away games when there was no priest to prod them) directly led to a deepening of Rockne's own relationship with Christ, including Knute's conversion to Catholicism in 1925. But Rockne's flair inspiring kids—coupled with his ability to lead the Irish to victory—soon made him a role model for youth (both Catholic and not) across the country—and started a trend for devout (and athletic!) Catholic boys (and later girls) to attend Notre Dame that only recently has subsided.

While Rockne (as depicted in Sports and the Catholic Fan) must be credited (along with then University president, Fr. Charles O'Donnell) with getting the faith and football combination rolling with the youth, this Catholic combo was probably perfected during the era of Rock's most successful successors, Frank Leahy. For by the late '40s, most of the nation's parochial school nuns were urging their charges to pray for Notre Dame every autumn Friday, for they knew this was the one religious obligation the boys would pursue with glee. Perhaps not coincidentally, Notre Dame not only was more in tune with the Catholic faith during that era, but won three National Championships (I still know some old timers who attended Notre Dame for four years and never saw the Irish lose) as well. In fact, Irish dominance during this era was so daunting that the University of Michigan simply quit playing Notre Dame, with Wolverine Coach Fritz Chrysler citing Notre Dame's Catholicism as an "unfair competitive advantage," because "it meant every Catholic kid in the country followed and wanted to play for them."

Unfortunately, as we access the situation on the eve of the Obama invasion, this is clearly no longer the case. Currently, Notre Dame football has not won a National Championship since 1988 (not coincidentally, when the outspokenly devout Catholic, Lou Holtz, was still coach) but Fr. Jenkins, having continued the bartering begun by Fr. Hesburgh of Jesus for prestige and God for glory, has unwittingly handed the "unfair advantage" over to the mainstream media. Yes, Notre Dame now gets all the press coverage it could ever want—but at the cost of promoting the MSM message, including the deadly Obama agenda.

Given this fact, how does Notre Dame get Rockne's devoted truthful youthful legions back? Certainly the old model is broken; for not only do few nuns remain in the (fewer) Catholic schools, but many of the schools are run by lay boards no better than Notre Dame's, with teachers as likely to lead their students in a New Age rant or Wiccan chant as an Our Father or Hail Mary. But certainly Knute's way with youth must still work ... if given the right opportunity! So I searched the Rockne files for inspiration ...

April 4, 1931

Dear Father O'Donnell:

I feel that I must express the sympathy and the heart feelings of myself and my family on the terrible loss suffered by the University of Notre Dame and the entire world in the death of Knute Rockne.

I am the father of a crippled boy, twelve years of age. He cannot leave the house and lives on the radio. He [loves] baseball and football, and Knute heard of him last November at the time he was most hard pressed. He wrote Eddie a letter and sent him an autographed picture of himself.

Father, when at noon Tuesday he heard the announcement ... that Knute Rockne was killed, he simply shut off the radio and cried; and when I came home that night he said: "Dad, the best man in the world was killed and I can't help him." Well, Eddie and I knelt down and said the rosary for Knute, and I know he heard the crippled boy pray for him, and ... appreciated it.

We ... heard your wonderful sermon today at the funeral, and I am forty-six years old and not ashamed to say I cried, for the whole world lost a friend when we lost Knute Rockne. And a man who would write to a crippled boy and try to make his life happier under the conditions Knute was fighting under last fall, is a man.

Knute's picture is draped in black in my home tonight, and the kiddies all knelt before it and said the rosary ... But little Dick, six years old, said, "Dad, will there be a Notre Dame next year?" "Yes son, next year and every year, Notre Dame will be there fighting with the Rockne spirit."

So, Father, when all this is over, if you see Mrs. Rockne, please tell her of Knute sending his picture to little Eddie Carty, a crippled kid out in Ohio, and that Eddie is going to pray every night for the one he calls his old friend Knute ...

"Will there be a Notre Dame next year!" I said to myself, frightened at this prophetic prospect, when Knute's new Notre Dame offense suddenly struck me. "Eddie stayed in the house, at home ... that's IT! Home-schooling is the new 'Old School' Catholic schooling!" I realized, and in an instant I was fleeing to catch the liturgy, to once again get the Notre Dame-youth ball rolling ...

I passed the nearby Catholic Church with the rich parishioners, instead opting for the more modest Church with Perpetual Adoration on the edge of town. After the Mass had ended, I headed to the back of church where a large family who attended Mass daily were still praying. Amazingly, as if by divine cue, the oldest daughter got up and began to walk toward me.

"Hello."

"Hello, Theresa." Although I had briefly met the family before, I was not exactly sure how old Theresa was, although I would guess she was about as old as Eddie, the boy in the story. After initially asking her to pray for my daughter Therese's water polo match, in which she was to face a tough opponent while sporting a sore shoulder (Theresa, you'll be happy to know that, thanks to your prayers, Therese scored three goals and played like a warrior!), I got down to business.

"Theresa, I'd also like you to pray for my school, Notre Dame. There's a problem ..."

"Oh yes! Obama's coming there to speak!" answered the well-informed youth, her serious eyes searching mine through her old-fashioned veil.

"Well, Theresa, since you already know, I'm sure you also know that's not a good thing. A lot of bad things are happening there, but there's still a lot of good people there fighting to save Notre Dame, and that's why I came to ask you to pray. It's a battle of good versus evil ... and you're on the side of good!"

Theresa smiled, a smile worth a thousand false Obama promises or twisted Jenkins' explanations. And if Theresa's smile was worth 1,000 enemy words, imagine how valuable a holy youth's prayers (combined with those of countless others) could be.

Valuable enough to get the "unfair advantage" back, eh, Knute?

+++

All kids (with their parents!) are invited to a peaceful prayer procession (concerning Obama's appearance) at the University of Notre Dame this Sunday, April 5, at 2 p.m. EST. And don't forget to pray for Notre Dame!

Saving Notre Dame: A Call to (Prayerful) Arms

2009-03-29T14:42:00.014-05:00

While taking an English course to attain my teaching certification at Elmhurst College (a local liberal arts school), I got into a debate with my professor. It was a 200 level course on literary criticism, and although the textbook had chapters on 11 different "schools" of critiquing fiction, including; Feminist, Marxist, African-American, "Gay, Lesbian and Queer," and, of course, Freud's favorite, Psychoanalytic Criticism, it contained nary a chapter on the Christian perspective—despite the fact the college was still listed (albeit in small print) as a United Church of Christ affiliated institution. "This class is proof," I told my prof, "that Elmhurst can no longer be considered a Christian college. For while Wheaton [a local evangelical school founded by the great Billy Graham] may teach only Christian Literary Criticism, and Notre Dame would teach all the modern modes but then put these methods in a Catholic Christian context, Elmhurst is apparently afraid of even mentioning what the Christian meaning of the story may be." But not long after that class, in a defiant, disobedient and underhanded manner, my alma mater invited our infamous abortion president, Barack Obama, to both speak and receive an honorary law degree from the famous South Bend university, and I realized Notre Dame was not far from becoming a Catholic version of Elmhurst College after all.

To be clear, this article is not meant to denigrate Elmhurst College (a little school with many fine classes and dedicated teachers) and, as for the counter argument by another classmate that the merger of such diverse liberal and conservative congregationalist churches into one denomination rendered the United Church of Christ incapable of making any definitive statements about Our Lord and Savior, I'll let the UCC brothers among our readers decide. What this column is meant to show is that Notre Dame, by becoming either too rich, too afraid, or too cool to preach the Gospel, has for several decades been on that same gradual slide to secularism, and now, balancing on the brink of the cliff that separates the world from the Kingdom, their anointing of Obama may be the decisive action that pushes her over the edge. And, because this would be such a great loss to not only the American Catholic Church (that is, those still in allegiance with Rome) but America itself, I'm calling on not only all loyal Catholics, but all devout Protestants and Evangelicals in the fight to save Notre Dame from slipping into the clutches of Satan himself.

But before I further expound on why not just Catholics but all Christians should be concerned with this particular school's possible demise, let me first show what a special place Notre Dame is (or at least, was) by explaining what it's not.The University of Notre Dame will never be Wheaton College (or Stubenville, the closest Catholic equivalent); in other words, an institution with only Christian teachers and, thus, teaching only the Christian perspective. Rather, Notre Dame was more modeled to be a modern equivalent of the medieval University of Paris, a place where Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) learned from not only the greatest Christian minds, but the best Moslem and Jewish teachers too. This not only enabled Thomas to attain the best education in both philosophy and theology, but math and science as well. Paris provided Thomas with the unique ability of starting his apologetics from a Jewish or Moslem point of view, and then showing how the Catholic Christian version either refuted or completed the other side's vision. Of course, this strategy, that of inviting every differing prince or duke to the court, will only work if Christ is still the King. This certainly was true with Saint Thomas, as his preaching and writing both strengthened Christians and converted heathens, while Notre Dame, with its devout priests, devoted laymen (not to mention championship football teams!) spread her fame and His Name throughout the world. But now, as Jenkins (who invited Obama on the sly, not informing his bishop until after Barack accepted the illicit invitation) stands once again poised to trade God for gold, both Notre Dame's faith and football fail to inspire.

Know that Notre Dame still possesses its special gift, its unique apostolate ... if only she will use it! Wheaton and Stubenville may still make great statements, but they preach only to the choir, never to be covered by the mainstream media. But if Notre Dame were to now re-emerge with a true new leader proclaiming a bold pro-life, pro-family vision, you could be sure that every soul with a radio, TV or computer would hear about it. A renewed Notre Dame would have the power to single-handedly revive the pro-life movement, and the Republican party along with it. I urge all Renew America readers to pray for Notre Dame, sign The Cardinal Newman Petition condemning the Obama invitation, and donate your time, money and insights to the cause as the Spirit leads. And, while I'm not making any predictions, if Notre Dame were to return to the fold, I wouldn't be surprised if God turns around the football team too!

These Stones Will Shout (and March?): My Irish Protest Letter to Fr. Jenkins

2009-03-26T11:52:00.017-05:00

"Presidents from both parties have come to [give the commencement address] at Notre Dame ... we're delighted that President Obama is continuing that tradition."
-Father John Jenkins

"The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality."
-Dante

Reverend John Jenkins, C.S.C., President
University of Notre Dame
400 Main Building
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556

Dear Father Jenkins,

Humbly placed among Notre Dame's many famous religious monuments and statues stands one of the University's smallest and often unnoticed stone images. Recently erected by the Knights of Columbus and nestled in a little nook next to Sacred Heart Church, this tiny statue of Our Lady holding a baby and bearing the caption "In Memory of the Innocent Victims of Abortion" is easy to miss amidst the grandiose Gothic architecture. And yet, ironically, with your invitation of Barack Obama, the most pro-abortion President this nation has ever known to give the keynote address to Our Lady's 2009 graduates, this unassuming shrine has become the center of attention, or, as Simeon would say, "a sign of contradiction" (Luke 2:35).

Speaking of contradiction, your invocation invitation to our new commander-in-chief (not to mention the honorary ND degree you bequeath him) clearly seems to contradict the U.S. Bishops' 2004 "Catholics in Political Life" statement, which reads, "Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principals. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions." After all, Barack is not just a little bit pro-choice, but his revoking of the "Mexico City Policy," coupled with his approval of massive funding for embryonic stem cell research and his big push for Illinois (his home state and mine!) to pass FOCA HB2354 in a mere two months, suggests a whole Culture of Choice—or Culture of Death, as that prolific Polish prophet, John Paul II, used to say. Of course, using phrases like "Culture of Death" is not exactly a great way to start a dialogue with pro-choice Democrats ("You know how feisty those future saints are!" you kid Obama's front men, assuring them the President will have smooth sailing once at Notre Dame) and by shoving such dogmas under the rug, you claim to have devised a better way for the University to show its Catholicity than the Bishops themselves. "We are not ignoring the critical issue of the protection of life!" you exclaim. "On the contrary, we invited him because we care about these issues, and we hope ... for this to be the basis of an engagement with him."

Assuming, Father, you are not planning an engagement to marry him (which I think even you would admit would throw all hope of salvaging the Barack talk for orthodox Catholics out the window), your slick apologetics appear to at least be taking the faith of the Christian faithful into consideration. Granted, I realize that, short of the Holy Spirit descending upon you, there is now no way in h-e-double hockey sticks you will rescind his invitation. However, if you are truly being honest about engaging Obama, as President of this University, it is your duty to start the dialogue, to make the first statement. You must tell the President that abortion is not a smart choice for a rich young girl who makes a mistake (as Obama implied to his own daughters), or the only realistic option for the poor single mother, as Planned Parenthood promotes—but murder, plain and simple. Heck, if you want to be prophetic, you can tell Obama that abortion is the second coming of the Slaughter of the Innocents (Matt 2:16-18), but as that would make Barack out to be another Herod, I can see why you might want to hold back on that one. Secondly, and just as importantly, you must tell the pro-life students that not only is it their right to protest, but that they are right! I've received too many e-mails like the one from ND parents that state their son (an ND junior) "has been attacked and vilified by many students for opposing the Obama honorarium," or the Irish pro-life underclassman who writes, "It's ironic that the man who calls for unity at all levels of society has served to divide a close-knit campus ... their [attacks] are vile, vicious and malicious." True dialogue demands you to not only encourage and protect these noble student protesters, but welcome the adult alumni that they have invited to join them in this "engagement." For if you will not at least speak out for the unborn, Father, but instead conspire to silence "Her Loyal Sons" of the pro-life cause, I suggest you give up the charade right now and remove every mosaic, sacramental, and statue before he arrives. For if you do not, I tell you these very stones will shout (Luke 19:40). And (if my vision is not just figuratively, but literally correct) the statues, led by the last and least monument, Our Lady of the Unborn, will assemble by the Dome and march toward the stadium, as so many fans, bands and football players have done before them. Only this time, they do not stop at the stands or sidelines, but proceed to the stage, not ceasing their marching until Obama (and all the dissident teachers and theologians) have fled, and Notre Dame is once again a safe and sacred place for Our Lord and Our Lady to dwell.

Go Irish!

Tom O'Toole (Class of '81)

Barack at Notre Dame? Our Lady Strikes Back!Notre Dame, Abortion, and Obama: Our Lady's civil war?

2009-03-20T18:20:00.008-05:00

When it comes to evil prophecies (i.e. Obama elected president, AND today's news that the spineless president of my Christian alma mater has indeed secured Barack the Butcher to speak at Our Lady's university), no true prophet likes to be right. However, if even a fraction of my following June 11th, 2008, counter attack comes to pass, I know the Gipper (not to mention Ronald Reagan!) will be happy ... and my prayers will have been answered.

"By the time we got to Woodstock, we were half a million strong ..."
-from the song "Woodstock" by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

"Anyone who has read the works of Fr. McBrien, and several other professors, knows that there is a threat to (Notre Dame's) Catholicism from within as well. But unlike Harvard or Yale, Northwestern or Southern Cal, all former Christian universities that are now secular schools, Notre Dame has the weapon to fight all heresies, namely Notre Dame Herself ... for the modern infidels to take control here, they would have to blow the Dame off the Dome, rip the heart (the Eucharist) out of Sacred Heart (Church) and lastly, rock by rock, tear the Grotto apart. And legions of Her sons and daughters would willingly die martyrs before they would allow that to happen."
-from "Champions of Faith" by Tom O'Toole

After reading my rather apocalyptic article "From Civil War to Civil Unions," fellow Domer and former head of Illinois Right to Life, John Ryan, whole-heartedly agreed with my gloomy assessment, but then asked, just "Where does Notre Dame stand in relation to this looming civil war?" Specifically, Ryan wondered what the response of orthodox regular and subway alumni should be if Obama won the presidency and ND president, Fr. John Jenkins, extended the university's traditional invitation to the new commander-in-chief to be the keynote speaker at the school's upcoming commencement.

While I definitely agree with Ryan that just as in a game of chess, we should certainly consider our spiritual options several moves ahead, it is also important to realize that Obama, despite what CNN and CNBC (or for that matter, Satan himself) may say, has not yet been elected. The first priority of the pro-life voter remains to petition Our Lady that McCain picks a passionate anti-abortion running mate (hopefully Huckabee, if not the emerging star, Jindal) to strengthen the GOP ticket. Next, we must pray like heck that McCain wins the general election. Still, if those things don't happen, Ryan's question must soon be considered.

Although Ryan's first idea, an all out pro-life media assault on Barack Obama's abortion position in an attempt to get Fr. Jenkins to withhold the ND invitation appears to be the logical initial strategy, I really doubt that such a campaign would make either man change his mind. A backing out on Barack's part would make the president-elect look weak, and if alumni scrutiny didn't make Jenkins cancel the showing of the extremely sleazy Vagina Monologues, no amount of pro-life propheteering would keep him from this woeful choice either. And, while I believe that the holy bishop of South Bend, John M. D'Arcy, would be within his rights to rescind the Catholic charter of the university if Barack were invited (Ryan's final, last ditch idea to keep Obama away), my long-held belief that Our Lady will keep Notre Dame Catholic through troubled times (see opening quote) precludes that possibility—at least for now. But little did I know when I penned that prediction some thirteen years ago that Notre Dame would indeed be the site of the first great battle in our country's second civil war.

Simply put, if the pro-life forces do not take a major stand when the modernist forces of Obama come to captivate (and capture) Notre Dame some one hundred plus days into his deadly presidency, the battle would be lost. As with Woodstock, a loyal force a "half a million strong" might be necessary, but unlike that counter-culture event, this battle would be better planned. Although the remaining true-to-the-faith students and priests could lay the groundwork, including proclaiming their petition (openly, since Jenkins rarely attends) at the 6:45 p.m. daily grotto rosary recitation, the first group of outside forces would arrive approximately a month before the graduation, under the guise of fans attending the annual Notre Dame spring football game. Known only by their Suffering Irish t-shirts, these several thousand or so loyal Domers would remain at Notre Dame after the game, sheltered by sympathetic students, professors, and even grounds crew. This way, they could gain strategic spots in the stadium, Church and even the Administration Building, including one of the little rooms right beneath the Dome.

And so it would go, with groups of ND loyalists arriving undetected with every subsequent baseball game, lacrosse or tennis match, until the main mass of Mary's men were in place. Included in this next group would be the special forces of Our Lady's Army, led by their new commander and recent Catholic convert, General Mike Huckabee. Meanwhile, when D-Day arrived, and thousands more bussed, biked, walked or parachuted their way onto the startled campus, several hundreds of Blessed Mother Teresa's Missionary of Charity sisters get into line behind the marching graduates, and Bishop D'Arcy, monstrance in hand, appears out of nowhere to lead them. And, because it is still a Catholic school, no one seems to question either occurrence.

As President Obama finally approaches the podium, Bishop D'Arcy rises, and raises the monstrance with the Eucharistic Christ right into Obama's sight, temporarily befuddling, if not frightening, the puzzled speaker. This allows the sisters to descend upon the stage, and they begin removing something hidden beneath their habits. No, the nuns have not been smuggling guns, but the aborted fetuses of late term abortions—and murdered live births—that Barack's regime has endorsed, and will soon enforce. As Obama attempts to speak, a voice as if from heaven (but actually Huckabee's), explains what the sisters are doing, telling the stunned crowd to look inside their programs, where the pro-life forces have inserted a page of all of Obama's dubious abortion accomplishments. Finally, as Huck's men silently subdue the Secret Service and the JumboTron focuses on the aborted fetuses, the last nun lays the last broken babe at Obama's feet and then begins to speak. While the crowd now anticipates an alternative commencement speech, the humble sister instead utters but one simple sentence. "Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me," she says to the president, and then leaves the stage for good.

At this point, Barack is free to speak, but with the Eucharistic Lord in front of him, the butchered fruit of his labor at his side, and the thousands of protesters now ready to storm the doors, something tells me he cuts his losses and leaves the campus speechless. The evil president flees Notre Dame in shame, while the triumphant forces place a giant wreath of flowers atop Our Lady on the Dome, as thousands cheer the most memorable May crowning ever.

Again, I hope Mr. Obama does not reach the White House, and this all turns out to be entertaining orthodox fiction. But if this vision is neglected and Barack is elected, we must pray to the Son beginning on day one that His Mother's Notre Dame dream comes true.

"Steeling" Souls and "Cardinal" Sins: Obama, Pro-Life's "Super-Foe"

2009-02-01T12:51:00.014-06:00

With strong believers on both sides of the ball in today's big football game (although I'm personally pullin' for that back-from-the-dead former Arena Leaguer who gave Jesus his due when winning the Super Bowl MVP nine years ago, the faithful Cardinal QB Kurt Warner), there's a good chance you'll witness a player or coach's Christian testimony before the telecast concludes. But what you won't see is a splendid pro-life commercial its creators hoped would run during the Super Bowl, but was rejected by NBC on the grounds it was too political. Well, you can call me cynical, but as the commercial featured a mini-bio of abortion's now most powerful friend, President Barack Obama, I cannot help but see his heavy hand in this dreadful decision.

Aided by a largely "Party of Death" Congress and with the blessing of two pseudo-Christian preachers and one, Rick "The Pretender" Warren, who had the knowledge but not the guts to defy his new master, Barack Obama's first dozen days in office have already put a huge dent in the former Republican regime's pro-life agenda. First, after promoting the massive positive media coverage of his inauguration indoctrination, not only did perhaps the largest pro-life march ever (which descended on the Capital a mere two days later) get nary an MSM mention; but even EWTN, citing the administration's "security concerns" had to shorten their coverage. Then, with the pavement still warm from the pro-lifers' footprints, Obama, the man who duped millions on the campaign trail by promising he would work to "lessen" abortions, waited just one day after their righteous right-to-life march to overturn the "Mexico City Policy" which paved the way to send millions of U.S. tax dollars out of the country to pay for foreign abortions.

I'm not really sure, given his campaign statements, how Obama and his Party of Death comrades justify this instantaneous government-aided abortion increase. Perhaps they think that killing thousands of babies on foreign soil doesn't count against a promise he made to Americans, or maybe the killing of Mexican and other non-domestic infants is the Democrats' new strategy to limit immigration, just as spending money on contraception is Nancy "The Hokey" Pelosi's solution to stimulate the economy. Fortunately, the U.S. bishops' astoundingly successful campaign against the "Freedom of Choice Act," a strategy which has delivered millions of postcards protesting this policy to Washington in a matter of days, has for the meantime shifted the Donkey's focus away from FOCA. But even if Obama, who as many conservative sites have noted, has shifted or flip-flopped on every position except abortion, cannot convince his voter-wary minions to pass FOCA immediately, he will continue to sign many smaller pieces of legislation that could eventually make it superfluous.

Which brings us back to the Super Bowl, and the simultaneously pro-life, pro-Obama ad that Barack just couldn't hack. In this brilliant CatholicVote.org creation, the commercial opens with a shot of a baby in the womb, a child from "a broken home," "abandoned by his father," raised by a struggling "single mother" who "despite hardships" becomes ... "the first African-American president!" "Life," the commercial concludes, "Imagine the possibilities." Rarely have I seen the medium used so powerfully for the good, for in less than 60 seconds, the ad successfully turns Obama's abortion "mistake" argument on its head, for his rags-to-riches rise is really not the story of a pro-life foe, but that of a pro-life hero. You can see why this one hits too close to home for a president who has become obsessed with abortion, and since NBC turned down two other ads, coupled with the fact CV.org has the word "vote" in its title, the network's decision appears justified, at least on the surface. However, there is a huge difference between the CV.org ad and PETA's "Veggie Love" (featuring models in skimpy underwear treating vegetables as sex organs) or that of the group promoting (I'm not kidding) discrete adultery; namely, one is good and the others are evil. Still, since the adoring Obama public is more likely to youtube PETA's soft porn nonsense than the CatholicVote.org's masterpiece, they will probably never get the chance to judge the Truth for themselves.

Looking on the positive side, I suppose that these ads also prove that President Obama is not the Antichrist (at least not yet), for if he was, he not only would have banned the CV.org spot from the Super Bowl (while allowing the others), but removed it from the Internet, not to mention its producers from the face of the earth. Still, at this rate, after about forty days in office, I figure Barack will be at roughly the same spot Christ was after forty days in the desert; sitting with the devil (Matt 4:1-11) and being offered a chance to rule all the kingdoms of the world ... with just one catch. Thus, we must not only redouble our efforts to fight against the Culture of Death, but pray Barack makes the correct decision to become Super Hero rather than Super Foe. For if he does not, we who desire life for all might again encounter another for whom it would have been better if he hadn't been born (Matt 26:24).

Renew America is now Renew America Together? I smell a "RAT"

2009-01-15T14:39:00.046-06:00

About a week ago when I was surfing the Net about the upcoming "Big Event" (the Inauguration of the Obama-nation), I stumbled across the news that President-elect Obama, with the help of ex-Secretary of State, fair-weather Republican, and now (another) Barack black friend, Colin Powell, announced Obama's next new thing, a shining nationwide volunteer initiative—eerily called Renew America Together. After my initial shudder from discovering the Obama "team" had chosen (or stolen as the case may be) a name so close to that of our beloved Web site's for a project that in the end remained at cross-purposes from our own, I chuckled a bit at how apropos yet hilarious the acronym for their hapless organization was.

"At least our acronym means 'hooray!'" wrote Renew America's editor, Stephen Stone, commenting on the birth of our new rival RAT. And, while we know what R-A-T (and you're telling me none of the brilliant liberal brains in the Obama camp caught this one?) spells, what exactly does the Obama/Powell RAT project stand for? Looking up its Web site, USA Service.org, and searching out the Chicago get-togethers from the literally thousands of listings nationwide, I found the usual suspects of pitch-in proposals, with a few questionable gatherings thrown in. Besides the typical "feed-the-less-fortunate," "clean-up-the-community," and "put-a-senior-to-sleep" choices (okay, I made the last one up!), there were a few perhaps too liberal even for Obama events as well. While the "Inauguration Celebration at Fitz's" ($5 cover includes an inaugural glass of champagne!) and the "Barack N' Roll" (which advertised "good music and mainly important topics covered") seemed dubious contributors to the great campaign of change Obama proclaimed, my favorite was the "Marijuana Policy Project" taking place at good ol' Ben Powell's house. However, I am sad to report that shortly before this article was published, the MPP, despite the fact Ben and friends promised it would only explore the use of medical marijuana, was pulled from the RAT Web site. Whether they were "weeded out" since the pot they were smoking wasn't, in the strictest sense, medically prescribed, or were busted merely because Ben wasn't exactly related to Colin, we probably won't know until the less famous (if now more infamous) Powell is out on parole.

The RAT credo, which Powell (Colin, not Ben) says, "calls all Americans to serve their community and their country," did display events hosted by groups as racially and/or religiously diverse as the "Association of Physicians of Pakistani-descent of North America," the "National Korean American Service and Education Consortium," "Family Mitzvah Day at the JUF Cafe" (which sports "Chicago's first kosher anti-hunger program for the needy")—but nothing with a title either "Evangelical" or "Catholic." True, there was a listing for a "Prayer and Intercession" session, which purports to "Thank God for his goodness and mercy," and, "will ask God for wisdom, strength and guidance ... for our president." That's all well and good, but it strikes me as more of the same of Obama's unique brand of Unitarianism, heavy on Jesus' mercy but with none of His judgement. Absent from the list is anything to do with the causes of pro-life, traditional marriage, or freedom of Christian speech in the press or public square—in other words, nothing that Renew America holds sacred. Thus, Renew America Together reveals itself as nothing but a secular, if not Satanic, mimic of the organization whose name they borrowed and then botched.

Just as I am far from a neutral observer of the upcoming Obama administration, I am also not a casual commentator when someone plays the "steal the name" game. Shortly after publishing Champions of Faith, my inspirational book about Catholic athletes and coaches, another group, without so much as an e-mail or phone call, came out with a DVD also entitled Champions of Faith, which depicted the lives of Catholic baseball players. Yes, my title was not copyrighted, so maybe what they did was legal. In any event, I did not then have the "lawyers, guns and money" (as Warren Zevon would say) to challenge them. But legal does not always equal moral, as Obama and company, whether it be the abortion question, the gay rights/marriage issue, or the Democrats' chastising, then championing the old insider Burris when they realized a special election would cost their party a Senate seat, has proved better than anybody in the history of our country. And so, while it is up to Stephen Stone if he feels he has enough to sue Renew America Together over the name, at the very least, I say we should ridicule the RAT moniker until they relinquish the name freely. In the meantime, I've been thinking about a title that more accurately reflects their mission. Perhaps we could change "RAT" to "REACT," which, as you may have guessed, stands for "Removing Every American of the Christian Tradition." At least maybe then every hoodwinked U.S. citizen who professes to follow Christ would finally realize what they're up against.

Blagojevich's Black Friend Roland: A "Burris" in Obama's Side?

2009-01-06T14:14:00.018-06:00

Largely due to a technicality, the United States Senate today refused to admit Roland Burris, former Illinois State Comptroller and the ridiculous pick of disgraced Governor "Hot Rod" Blagojevich to fill Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat. Whether the Democrats' will for this just refusal will soon fade, or if the people of the Land of Lincoln will have a chance to elect Obama's Senate successor is still a matter of much debate, but how we got ourselves in this fine mess begs a thorough examination.

While Blago's motives (namely, trying to save his own ass) for going against both the Senate and the president-elect's wishes seem abundantly clear, Burris and associates' reasons at first seem reasonable, but in the end keep coming up racist. While Rod's story, that of a man caught red-handed seeking whatever friends and cutting whatever deals he can before being sent from the state house to the big house, is remarkably similar to the parable of the dishonest steward (Luke 16:1-13), Burris' quixotic quest appears to start in a house of prayer, but always ends by playing the "race card." "My prayers have been answered, I prayed throughout that the governor would continue the [Obama] legacy and appoint an African," proclaims U.S. Rep. and avid Burris supporter Bobby Rush, before raising his voice and adding, "I would ask that you not hang or lynch the appointee as you try to castigate the appointer." Rush, of course, initially denied such loaded language was racist, but showed his true colors by later saying (at a black church service), "No one plays the race card better than the United States!" and confirming today that today's refusal to seat Burris was due to the fact that Roland was black.

Ironically, it is Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times columnist and unabashed liberal, who put this appointment in perspective. "What percentage of votes do you think Burris would garner in a [fair] contest?" he asks of the man who lost the primary bid for governor in 1994, 1998, and 2002 and for mayor of Chicago in 1995. "I'd say ... 3 percent. Let's be honest ... Blagojevich picked a guy who is about the 16th choice of the people of Illinois, at best." Still, this is a far cry from Sun-Times colleague Laura Washington's column. "Where are the talking drums for black America?" she exhorts. In urging them "to take a stand against the first black president," Washington calls on Tom Joyner, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson Sr., etc. to "pump up the volume," "raise a holler ... influence the drama," "stir the pot to a boil" "to keep the seat." In other words, despite realizing that Burris is, how shall we say, not exactly the best candidate, she nevertheless seeks to confirm this shoddy endorsement with the mob mentality. Thus, she asks black leaders to operate in the same fashion the Klan did, and in doing so lowers herself—and all that follow—to their level.

"I am the junior senator from Illinois!" Burris preached from the pulpit of Chicago's New Covenant Baptist Church, concluding, "They can't deny what the Lord has ordained." No, this "prayer" does not disgust me, say, as much as the Hamas' or Hezbollah's cry that God wants them to wipe Israel, then the United States, off the face of the earth. Still, taken to its logical extreme, that being selecting black leaders not because of the content of their character but merely because of the color of their skin, it comes real close. For as low as the Blagovichs' religion goes, at least they are honest about this part of their dishonesty. When Michael Ettinger, Rod's lawyer, was asked if there was any chance Rod's brother (conveniently named Rob) would cooperate with the Feds against his sibling, Ettinger prophesied, "Not a prayer."

Which leads us to ponder if that quote holds true for Obama. Indeed, upon first glance, Barack's statement, "Roland Burris is a good man and a fine public servant, but the Senate Democrats have made it clear weeks ago that they cannot accept the appointment made by a governor who is accused of selling that very Senate seat. I agree ... and it is extremely disappointing that Gov. Blagojevich has chosen to ignore this ... [Rod] is entitled to his day in court, but the people of Illinois are entitled to a functioning government free of taint and controversy," would seem to indicate Obama would be disappointed (and his prestige diminished) if the Democrats, feeling the daily-growing heat of the Illinoisans and deciding Roland (as opposed to an elected Republican) is the lesser of two evils, appointed him against Obama's wishes. But upon further inspection, Obama's carefully crafted reflection is perfect for every occasion. If the Dems cave to black pressure and seat Burris, Obama will note that he always said that Roland was a good man and this was always the Senate's decision. If a special election is held, he will remind us that he stated the will of the people must be served. And if the Blago is deposed and Pat Quinn, the next in line for the governor's seat, appoints someone else, Obama will remind us how he always says that justice must be served.

For someone not yet the president (a fact many seem to forget!), Obama has endured his share of controversies. But whether it is this sorry saga or the story of the other governor, the tale of how the rich got Richardson, the leader who may not go to jail but no longer fits the "Bill," Barack has already developed an uncanny way of staying above (or at least beyond) the fray—but not necessarily for the good. Obama has left Chicago, leaving behind not only its politics but the church where Wright was black and black was always "Wright." But I sometimes wonder if Obama's new house of worship may not be even worse.

Forty-Four and Fightin' for more: Irish, Harangody down Georgetown, 73-67

2009-01-06T08:12:00.017-06:00

2009 has already been a banner year for the number "44" in our corner of Chicagoland. While local boy Barack Obama's ascent to become our nation's 44th president doesn't exactly bring us joy, nor does the fact that the Chicago Bears are already looking forward to Super Bowl 44 since they've blown a bid for this season's Super Bowl XLIII, being awarded the "Murph 44" license plate from my beloved mother-in-law Genevieve "Murph" Ohlin's estate (44 S. Third St. was Murph's address for three fourth's of her 87 years) more than makes up for it. Still, nowhere in the nation was the number 44 more important last night than at Notre Dame, where Irish star (and jersey #44) Luke Harangody scored 31 points to lead 13th ranked Irish to their 44th straight home win, a down-to-the-wire 73-67 decision over the 10th ranked Georgetown Hoyas.

Going into this game, the Irish knew that Brigham Young's loss last week meant Notre Dame now owned the longest current home court winning streak in college basketball. Still, protecting it would be no cakewalk. Notre Dame was itself coming off a five point upset loss at St. John's over the weekend, and the always tough Hoyas had taken their last five games against its Irish rivals. But none of those games had taken place in South Bend, and when the Irish, behind Harangody's nineteen first half points, jumped out in front by eleven at the intermission, the townies (who were supplying the joyful noise at the Joyce Center last night in place of the on-break student body) began to breathe easier.

But easy this win was not. First, the Hoyas went on a 7-0 run early in the second half to draw within four. Then, with 15:41 still left in the contest, Harangody picked up his fourth foul on a questionable charging call, and the Irish star had to come out. But rather than sit big Luke for an extended period of time, Irish coach, Mike Brey, gambled that #44 would be smart enough to play the rest of the game without picking up his fifth foul, and inserted Harangody back in the lineup less than four minutes later. Not only did the move pay off, as Harangody stayed (and starred) in the contest to its conclusion, but aided by two clutch three-pointers by Kyle McAlarney (17 pts. including 5 "threes"), and some nearly flawless free throwing (the Irish finished 15 of 16 from the line), the Domers hung on at home again.

"He's the MVP of our league," Georgetown coach, John Thompson III, said about Harangody after the game, adding, "He makes good decisions and can score from many places on the court." Meanwhile, Coach Brey, while acknowledging Luke's enormous contributions, instead paid homage to an even bigger source of strength. "They really believe in this building ... Notre Dame is a great advantage for us ... we know we can always come home and get well." The Irish go back on the brutal Big East road (where a record nine league teams are ranked) later this week, but before they do, let them first celebrate today's feast of one of their own (Blessed Andre Bessette of the Holy Cross Order) then pray for the grace so that #44 and the boys can carry the courage of the Notre Dame name with them.