10 Most Important Obama Faith Moments
9. Announcing Plans to Give Notre Dame's Commencement Address
(Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images)
Members of the antiabortion-rights organization Operation Rescue protest near the White House.
Six U.S. presidents, both Republican and Democrat, have given commencement addresses at the University of Notre Dame. But President Obama's announcement in March that he'd accepted the school's invitation to speak at this year's graduation enraged conservative Catholic groups. They fault Notre Dame for lending a prestigious Catholic platform to a politician whose policies on abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research clash with church teaching. A few dozen bishops have also voiced objections to Obama's appearance at Notre Dame, scheduled for May 17. But the university's president, the Rev. John Jenkins, has refused to bow to pressure to rescind the invitation, arguing that it "should not be taken as condoning or endorsing his positions on specific issues regarding the protection of human life, including abortion and embryonic stem cell research."
What do you think are the most important "faith moments" in the first 100 days of Obama's presidency?