Notre Dame Grad to Fr Jenkins

My friend Tim Belke, a Notre Dame grad with at least two other family members ( a niece and a nephew) who are also Notre Dame grads has given me permission to put his letter to Fr Jenkins here, and is encouraging other Notre Dame alumni to also contact Fr Jenkins.
I had said to him:

You hit on my concerns perfectly. You spoke with honor, with dignity. You said everything in very straight-forward terms, not nasty, not mincingly.

Wow... I wish I could put this on my blog, but I won't ask you  to 'go public'. 
Tim responded:

It's not as well-written as I would like.  I could keep polishing it forever, but at some point one just has to hit "print" and move on. 

You can certainly put it on your blog. 

---snip---

AMDG

Tim

In another email, he also gave me permission to use his full name.  So, without further ado, Tim's letter:

The body is as follows:

I am writing with regard to President Obama speaking at this year's commencement.

 

I've written a number of letters to both you and Father Malloy over the past 20 years or so, expressing my dismay over the fact, and it is a fact, that my beloved University is sliding into the land of Catholic obscurity… well on her way to becoming no better than just another secularized "Catholic" university.  Highly ranked, academically, but Catholic in name only.   

 

It seemed like things were getting more orthodox there, but now I hear that you've invited Barack Obama to give the commencement speech this May, and are going to award him an honorary degree.  This is truly a scandal!    

 

For one thing, one would expect intelligent people to learn from one another.  Take Mgsr. Cavanaugh, for example.  He told then-governor Gray Davis to renounce his public position on abortion before he would be allowed to visit Cavanaugh's orphanage and give out gifts to the kids there.  Mgsr. Cavanaugh refused to give Davis a photo-op.  Will you refuse to let Obama step onto our hallowed ground unless he renounces his positions?

 

Pope Benedict spoke with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, but refused to let photographers and journalists in so that she would not be able to get anything that looked like support from the Pope.  Will you keep photographers and journalists away?

 

No, you are clearly doing this to add to the secular prestige of the university.  You are giving him the most prestigious and public Catholic soapbox, and "with no preconditions".  Our Lady's University is being used.  Shame on you!

 

You are suggesting that this is all okay because you will be able to "dialogue" with him.  Is this because ND has lost her moral authority to TEACH, and so is reduced to dialogue?

 

You say that you are honoring him for his leadership.  You are honoring him for his ability to lead, while ignoring where he's leading us to?  Does that make any sense?  Where has he led us?  So far he has repealed the Mexico City Policy, he has announced that he would rescind protection to health care workers who conscientiously object, on moral grounds, to participate in abortive or contraceptive actions, he announced that he would remove restrictions to embryonic stem cell research, and he has stated that he supports and will sign FOCA.  He's leading this country to Hell!  And for that he's being honored.  Okay.

 

I don't know what else to say.  Please, please, please reconsider!