Despite criticism, Notre Dame firm on Obama as graduation speaker
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- University of Notre Dame officials were standing firm on their choice of President Barack Obama as commencement speaker at the institution's May 17 graduation, in spite of a large number of Catholics calling on them to rescind the invitation. The Indiana university, run by the Congregation of Holy Cross, and the White House announced March 20 that Obama would be Notre Dame's 2009 commencement speaker and confirmed he will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree at the graduation. "The invitation to President Obama to be our commencement speaker 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," said Holy Cross Father John Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame. "Yet, we see his visit as a basis for further positive engagement," he said in a March 23 statement. The announcement on Obama was promptly followed by a flurry of criticism from Catholics, who said the president's support of legal abortion and embryonic stem-cell research makes him an inappropriate choice to be the commencement speaker at a Catholic university.

Annual Cesar E. Chavez Mass to be celebrated March 29 at Cathedral
LOS ANGELES --- The ninth annual mass in memory of Cesar E. Chavez will be celebrated March 29, at 12:30 p.m., at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Cardinal Roger Mahony will preside at the event, coordinated by the Office of Justice and Peace. For more information, call Social Service Sister Gail Young, of the Office of Justice and Peace, at (213) 637-7690.

Vermont Senate OKs same-sex marriage; bishop explains church stance
BURLINGTON, Vt. (CNS) --- Despite a Catholic bishop's warning that decisions made too rapidly could "leave unresolved a whole series of moral, ethical and legal questions," the Vermont Senate voted overwhelmingly March 23 to allow same-sex marriages in the state. Following the 26-4 Senate vote, the Vermont House of Representatives scheduled hearings on the legislation for March 24 and 25 and was expected to vote on the bill March 26 or 27. At a March 18 hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Bishop Salvatore Matano of Burlington said church opposition to the legislation was "not rooted in hatred, bigotry, a lack of compassion or understanding, or discrimination" but rather arose from a "duty to uphold and to defend the traditional definition of marriage as it has been upheld and revered over the ages. The union of husband and wife is a distinct vocation and using the law to alter or to redefine marriage is an injustice to those who have embraced this state in life and negates its long history of benefit to society and the justified acknowledgment that it has received from the very beginning of history." If the legislation, called the Freedom to Marry Act, becomes law, Vermont would become the third state to allow same-sex couples to marry, after Massachusetts and Connecticut, and the first to do so without a court order.

Cardinal George asks Obama to end raids, work on immigration reform
CHICAGO (CNS) --- Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, joined by nearly a thousand people at a Chicago Catholic church, urged President Barack Obama and his administration to stop immigration raids and deportations that are separating families and to work toward more comprehensive immigration reform. "This will be a clear sign that this administration is truly about change," the cardinal said. The March 21 interfaith prayer service at Our Lady of Mercy Church was organized by the Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform, Priests for Justice for Immigrants, Sisters and Brothers of Immigrants and a number of interfaith groups. U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., also was present; he will be promoting similar events at churches in other cities in Illinois and around the U.S.

Progress on human trafficking praised; more awareness sought
WASHINGTON (CNS) --- The United States has made important progress in the last decade in recognizing the problem of human trafficking, creating laws and systems to try to stop it and aiding victims, said witnesses at a March 19 congressional hearing. The next steps toward addressing human trafficking should start with increasing awareness of the problem, said experts from the Department of Homeland Security, from a police task force in California and from Migration and Refugee Services of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Testifying before the Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism of the House Homeland Security Committee, Anastasia Brown, director of refugee programs for MRS, credited the recent laws and an expansion of the program approved by Congress in the fall for valuable progress. The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act signed into law in December by President George W. Bush included new services for trafficking victims, including making them eligible for benefits without waiting periods and opening up the array of assistance available to child victims.

As floodwaters rise, bishop asks Catholics to pray, help one another
FARGO, N.D. (CNS) --- Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo has asked all Catholics in his diocese to pray for the protection of North Dakota residents and communities that may be affected by rising floodwaters, which threatened to destroy about 6,000 homes. "Please remember to pray for their protection, for the protection of their families, our communities and also asking the Lord to give us strength during this time of trial," said Bishop Aquila at Mass March 22 at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Fargo.

Papal social encyclical should be published in May, says cardinal
VATICAN CITY (CNS) --- Pope Benedict XVI's first social encyclical is already completed and should be ready for release in early May, said a top Vatican official. The original aim had been to have the encyclical on social justice issues ready for publication in 2007 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Pope Paul VI's encyclical on human development, "Populorum Progressio" ("The Progress of Peoples"), said Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. "Naturally, however, with the research and revisions necessary to create and have a text that would respond to today's current situation, well, it got behind schedule a little bit," he told reporters March 20. "The encyclical is already ready and we hope it will be published in early May," he said. He said the new papal encyclical will offer "a beautiful response" to the new realities and the changes that have occurred since the last papal encyclical on Catholic social teaching, "Centesimus Annus" ("The Hundredth Year"), was published in 1991 by Pope John Paul II.