Mary Ann Glendon: Proudly Pro-Life

Mary Ann Glendon has long been known in legal circles. She taught at Boston College Law School from 1968 to 1986, and has been a visiting professor at the University of Chicago Law School and the Gregorian University in Rome. She has received honorary doctorates from numerous universities including the Universities of Chicago and Louvain. She was elected President of the UNESCO sponsored International Association of Legal Science in 1991.

She writes and teaches in the fields of bioethics, human rights in international law, comparative constitutional law, property, and legal theory. She won the Scribes Book Award given by the American Society of Writers on Legal Subjects for Abortion and Divorce in Western Law, a comparative study that was featured in Bill Moyers' "World of Ideas" series. She was also awarded the Legal Academy’s highest honor, the Order of the Coif Triennial Book Award, in 1993 for another comparative study, The Transformation of Family Law.

Dr. Glendon headed the Holy See’s delegation to the Fourth United Nations Women’s Conference in Beijing in 1995. Pope John Paul II appointed her to the Pontifical Academy of Social Science in 1994, and she became its first female president in 2004. She was awarded the National Humanities medal in 2005 and later served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See from 2007- 2009. The National Law Journal named her one of the "Fifty Most Influential Women Lawyers in America" in 1998, and she currently serves as the Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard University.

But the name of Mary Ann Glendon became a household word for many of us earlier this year when she was selected by the University of Notre Dame to be the 2009 recipient of the Laetare Medal. At about the same time, the university invited President Obama, a vocal proponent of pro-choice policies, to be the commencement speaker and to receive an honorary degree. After consideration, Dr. Glendon wrote the following letter explaining her decision to decline the Laetare Medal:

Dear Father Jenkins,

When you informed me in December 2008 that I had been selected to receive Notre Dame's Laetare Medal, I was profoundly moved. I treasure the memory of receiving an honorary degree from Notre Dame in 1996, and I have always felt honored that the commencement speech I gave that year was included in the anthology of Notre Dame's most memorable commencement speeches. So I immediately began working on an acceptance speech that I hoped would be worthy of the occasion, of the honor of the medal, and of your students and faculty.

Last month, when you called to tell me that the commencement speech was to be given by President Obama, I mentioned to you that I would have to rewrite my speech. Over the ensuing weeks, the task that once seemed so delightful has been complicated by a number of factors.
First, as a longtime Consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, I could not help but be dismayed by the news that Notre Dame also planned to award the President an honorary degree. This, as you must know, was in disregard of the U.S. Bishops’ express request of 2004 that Catholic institutions "should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles" and that such persons "should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions." That request, which in no way seeks to control or interfere with an institution's freedom to invite and engage in serious debate with whomever it wishes, seems to me so reasonable that I am at a loss to understand why a Catholic university should disrespect it.

Then I learned that "talking points" issued by Notre Dame in response to widespread criticism of its decision included two statements implying that my acceptance speech would somehow balance the event:

"President Obama won't be doing all the talking. Mary Ann Glendon, the former US Ambassador to the Vatican, will be speaking as the recipient of the Laetare Medal."

"We think having the President come to Notre Dame, see our graduates, meet our leaders, and hear a talk from Mary Ann Glendon is a good thing for the President and for the causes we care about."

A commencement, however, is supposed to be a joyous day for the graduates and their families. It is not the right place, nor is a brief acceptance speech the right vehicle, for engagement with the very serious problems raised by Notre Dame's decision--in disregard of the settled position of the U.S. Bishops--to honor a prominent and uncompromising opponent of the Church's position on issues involving fundamental principles of justice.

Finally, with recent news reports that other Catholic schools are similarly choosing to disregard the Bishops' guidelines, I am concerned that Notre Dame’s example could have an unfortunate ripple effect.

It is with great sadness, therefore, that I have concluded that I cannot accept the Laetare Medal or participate in the May 17 graduation ceremony.

In order to avoid the inevitable speculation about the reasons for my decision, I will release this letter to the press, but I do not plan to make any further comment on the matter at this time.

Yours very truly,

Mary Ann Glendon

In a sense, it is peculiar to mention Dr. Glendon in conjunction with “Support a Catholic Speaker Month, which is being hosted by Matthew Warner at Fallible Blogma. After all, most of us know her because she ultimately declined an offer to speak at Notre Dame. But by doing so, the words of the letter she wrote to Notre Dame explaining her decision become more powerful.
Dr. Glendon has since been selected by the National Right to Life Committee’s Educational Trust Fund to receive the 16th Proudly Pro-Life Award at a ceremony to take place today, October 6, 2009.

Congratulations, Dr. Glendon. May God bless you and all who are willing to stand firm.