| Politics

I couldn't believe what was happening. Catholics were being arrested for praying the Rosary and holding Silent No More signs on a Catholic campus.

DENVER (Catholic Online) - I grew up in the Boston area; an Irish Catholic. Everyone in my extended family was a Notre Dame fan. You could see the fighting leprechaun everywhere you went on the east coast of Massachusetts. It was as normal to know of the University of Notre Dame as you would know of our Pope. It was something all Catholics identified with, and were proud of. "Notre Dame, Our Mother". I cut my teeth on Notre Dame football - or at least as much as a little girl sitting next to her Dad during the Saturday games could. Notre Dame was as much my childhood as was riding a bike.

After Confirmation I strayed from my Catholic roots. I made mistakes, some small, and some that changed my life forever. When I hit bottom I looked to my roots, the foundation my Dad had worked hard at building for me. I began going to Mass again, and sought forgiveness for an abortion that had almost completely ruined me. My Catholic roots saved me. I healed, repented, sought God's forgiveness and grew spiritually. Today my Catholic faith is the keystone to everything I am.

I would meet my husband, Hank, at the Cathedral in Denver, and we would marry a year and a half later. My sister and brother-in-law both are Notre Dame Alumni. I remember going to a game at the University, the traditional game against USC. Before the game we visited our brother's former dorm, and there on the first floor was a Chapel. Every dorm building had a Chapel for Mass. Priests were everywhere on the grounds, and wherever you looked there was something that was identifiably Catholic - the Grotto, the mural of Jesus on the library, the Cathedral, the student groups and Orders raising funds on the quad before the game. There was a feeling of family, of belonging being with so many other Catholics. I turned to my husband and said "I want our children to go here".

When I learned that our President had been invited to speak at Notre Dame's Commencement, and was also to receive an Honorary Degree of Law from the University, I was stunned and frustrated. In 2004 the USCCB stated that Catholic institutions should not honor those politicians who are pro-abortion and who use their office to promote abortion. What had happened to the University's Catholic identity? Why had it strayed from the basic teachings of our Church? What about the students there now? What would it say to them to have this occur? That abortion is ok? That it is not as important as other justice issues? Would it leave an impression to the students, and the rest of Catholic America, that the Church isn't really serious about the issue of Life?

Catholics were showing up at Notre Dame to pray and demonstrate. My dear friend Jane and I joked about going out to the University, to hold our Silent No More signs and tell anyone who would listen about the reality of "choice". The joking soon ended and we felt a strong urge to be there, to reach out to the students and tell them what abortion does to the body and to the soul.

I called Hank at his office. Much to my annoyance - and as usual, he was very much grounded in reality and said he would have to think about it. Why he couldn't immediately agree to my idea and let me fly out to South Bend on a days notice, not to mention rearranging schedules for the kids, was beyond me. Soon he would call back and say that he felt that God had given him peace about it, and that I should go. I am blessed with a wonderful husband who understands and supports my passion for Life. Both of us thought that it was something we were being asked to do. Frankly, we didn't believe anything negative would come of it. After all, this was Notre Dame, "our" Catholic University. They had simply made a mistake, and having made mistakes myself, I had hoped they could change their path before it changed them forever. What could possibly happen to Catholics praying and speaking about basic Catholic teaching at Notre Dame? Certainly they must be open to ideas foundational to our beloved Catholic Church.

We found ourselves on a flight the next afternoon. We drove from Chicago to South Bend, arriving after dark. The golden dome of the University glowed in the night - it was magnificent, and we were ever aware that our Blessed Mother was very near this place. The next morning we united with many fellow Catholics and assembled at the gates to the University. We held our "I Regret My Abortion" signs high in the air as we prayed the Rosary. Women came up to us, some in tears, and said they were like us and had not yet healed. We directed them to Rachel's Vineyard and Project Rachel, two healing programs we had participated in. We offered hugs and understanding. We were struck by the fact that although these women were still hurting from their "choice" they showed up and stood in solidarity with others against abortion and for the teachings of our Catholic Church. We were humbled that they would come, that ...