Is Notre Dame for or against "dialogue," "conversation" and "debate" among different viewpoints? Yes, those are the standards on which university officials are defending the coming address by President Obama--a president whose decisions on behalf of abortion and embryonic stem cell research have been opposed by the Catholic Church.
But only two weeks ago Notre Dame was official co-sponsor in Rome of an international conference on Darwinian theory that specifically, publicly and energetically forbade participation by scientists who criticize Darwinian theory and support intelligent design. No "dialogue", "conversation", let alone "debate", for them!
So what is the lesson? Simply put, Notre Dame University supports openness to viewpoints that are supported by the Left and opposes openness to viewpoints supported from the Right. You can trash Catholic teachings on life issues at Notre Dame, but you cannot receive a hearing for scientific viewpoints that challenge scientific materialism.
I am for the free marketplace of ideas. But I also favor consistency, and Notre Dame flunks the test.
