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INDIANA
Abortion Foe Rejects Notre Dame Honor
A former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican said Monday that she will not accept the University of Notre Dame's top honor at commencement next month because of the school's decision to have President Obama speak to graduates.
Harvard University law professor and antiabortion scholar Mary Ann Glendon was ambassador to the Vatican in the final year of President George W. Bush's administration. She was to receive the school's Laetare Medal, which has been awarded annually since 1883 to a Catholic "whose genius has ennobled the arts and sciences, illustrated the ideals of the church, and enriched the heritage of humanity."
Glendon said in a letter to the school president, the Rev. John Jenkins, that giving Obama an honorary degree violates a 2004 statement by U.S. bishops that Catholic institutions should not honor people whose actions conflict with the church's moral principles.
"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," she wrote.
Jenkins said in a statement that the university was "disappointed that Professor Glendon has made this decision."
Dozens of bishops have criticized the Obama invitation because of his support for abortion rights and federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.
-- Associated Press
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Whistleblower Probe Of Iraq Contractor
U.S. military officials are investigating whether an employee for a private security contractor was fired for warning about serious deficiencies in training and equipment for Ugandan guards hired to protect an American base in Iraq.
