As prolife supporters (including some graduating seniors) protested the appearance of President Barack Obama at the University of Notre Dame's commencement ceremony May 17, the president and others called for mutual respect and dialogue on abortion and other issues that have divided many.

Critics of Notre Dame's decision to invite Obama, including more than 50 bishops, said the president's support of legal abortion and embryonic stem-cell research made him an inappropriate choice to be a commencement speaker at a Catholic university and to receive an honorary degree from Notre Dame.

Bishop John D'Arcy of Forth Wayne-South Bend --- whose diocese includes Notre Dame --- announced weeks before he would not attend the ceremony, and a student group, Notre Dame Response, and other protesters held daily demonstrations. On commencement day, the student group also received permission to hold a vigil for life at the grotto on campus as an alternative graduation ceremony.

During the main commencement ceremony in the Joyce Center, a handful of hecklers were escorted out during Obama's talk --- once with a student-led "We are ND" chant drowning out the protesters' shouts.

Obama said he had learned to choose careful language on the issue during his race for the Senate in Illinois, when a pro-life doctor complained that his Web site referred to abortion opponents as "right-wing ideologues who want to take away a woman's right to choose." Obama had the words removed.

"And I said a prayer that night that I might extend the same presumption of good faith to others that the doctor had extended to me," Obama told the graduates and their families. "Because when we do that --- when we open our hearts and our minds to those who may not think like we do or believe what we do --- that's when we discover at least the possibility of common ground."

Acknowledging that positions on abortion are in some ways irreconcilable, he urged respect for conscience and recognition of the "heart-wrenching decision for any woman to make, with both spiritual and moral dimensions."

"So let's work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions by reducing unintended pregnancies, and making adoption more available, and providing care and support for women who do carry their child to term," he said.

"Let's honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion, and draft a sensible conscience clause, and make sure that all of our health care policies are grounded in clear ethics and sound science, as well as respect for the equality of women," he said.

"We must find a way to live together as one human family," he continued. "Moreover, no one person, or religion, or nation can meet these challenges alone. Our very survival has never required greater cooperation and understanding among all people from all places than at this moment in history."

Holy Cross Father John Jenkins, president of Notre Dame, invoked the Second Vatican Council's "Gaudium et Spes," which calls for respect, courtesy and love for "those who think or act differently than we do in social, political and even religious matters. If we want to extend courtesy, respect and love --- and enter into dialogue --- then surely we can start by acknowledging what is honorable in others."

Father Jenkins was criticized by bishops and others who objected to Notre Dame choosing Obama as commencement speaker and awarding him an honorary degree.

Bishop: 'Privilege' to be associated with N.D. students
During the baccalaureate Mass celebrated May 16 at Notre Dame's Joyce Center. Bishop D'Arcy made it clear that even though he would not attend the university's commencement ceremony the next day, he was not giving up on Notre Dame.

"It remains a privilege to be associated here with you," he told graduating seniors, adding he was encouraged by the actions of a coalition of pro-life students known as Notre Dame Response in the weeks following Notre Dame's invitation to President Obama to be the commencement speaker and to receive an honorary degree.

"I see these classes, one after another, year after year, coming here. They put it all together. It's very beautiful ... this Mass, and your worship and your prayer," the bishop said.

On May 17, Bishop D'Arcy spoke during the noontime rally to a crowd estimated at about 3,000. The gathering included about 30 students who opted to bypass the school's traditional graduation ceremony, Notre Dame alumni and pro-life activists from as far away as Louisiana and California, organizers said.

Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, led the graduates in a reflection on the glorious mysteries during the vigil. The third glorious mystery, the Pentecost, can serve as a reminder that the Holy Spirit provides the grace to lead people to advocate for the most vulnerable, particularly the unborn, he said he told the gathering.

"The Holy Spirit makes us take risks," he told CNS May 18. "It's not only preaching but doing, laying down our safety and popularity."

Father Pavone also commended the students for their stance.

"They (students) were pure in their intention," he said. "They were so completely willing to witness. They were not bitter. They were like, 'This is what commencement is about. We're starting our life in witness to the community of life.'"

Off campus, at least 39 people were arrested on trespassing charges during a May 17 morning protest, the last of several high-profile events organized by abortion opponents in recent weeks. Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff identified as "Roe" in the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, was among those arrested. She now opposes abortion.

The dissenting graduates said they disagreed with the school's decision to invite President Obama, a supporter of legal abortion, to speak at the commencement and present him with an honorary degree.

During the afternoon vigil, convened at the same 2 o'clock hour that the traditional ceremony began across campus, the graduates placed white roses at a statue of Mary in an area known as the grotto after praying the rosary, organizers said. Hundreds of others watched the events at the grotto on video screens set up a short distance away on the south quad, an open area on the south end of the campus where most of the day's events were held.

Vatican newspaper: Obama sought 'common ground'
On May 18, the Vatican newspaper's account of President Obama's appearance noted that he sought common ground on the divisive issue of abortion in his commencement address. L'Osservatore Romano said the president also confirmed that pushing for a more liberal abortion law would not be a priority of his administration.

"The search for a common ground: This seems to be the path chosen by the president of the United States, Barack Obama, in facing the delicate question of abortion," the newspaper said.

It said Obama had set aside the "strident tone" of the 2008 political campaign on the abortion issue.

"Yesterday Obama confirmed what he expressed at his 100-day press conference at the White House, when he said that enacting a new law on abortion was not a priority of his administration," it said.

The newspaper, which was reporting on the Notre Dame commencement for the first time, acknowledged the controversy caused by the president's appearance at what it called "the most prestigious Catholic university in the United States."

"Yesterday, too, as could have been predicted, there were protests. But from the podium set up in the basketball arena, the president invited Americans of every faith and ideological conviction to 'work in common effort' to reduce the number of abortions," it said.

The newspaper noted that Obama had called for reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies, facilitating adoption and supporting women who want to carry their babies to term, and that he had also spoken of drafting a "conscience clause" for medical personnel who are morally opposed to participating in abortions.