President Obama’s planned appearance at Notre Dame appears to have sparked a backlash among some on campus — and among a number of Catholics, according to MSNBC:

In today’s edition of the student newspaper, The Observer, letters to the editor, which are usually reserved for debates over the color of The Shirt or whether it’s proper to chant “Sucks” at sporting events — was expanded to cover a lively debate over whether Obama should be speaking.

“Obama choice unacceptable,” read one headline, and “Obama a disgrace” shouted another.

The point of contention? The president’s record on issues related to abortion, the majority of which clash with the strict anti-abortion stance of the Catholic Church. An online petition has sprung up urging people to voice their complaints to Father John Jenkins, president of the university.

Jenkins said in an interview with the student paper Monday that while there are clear differences between the president and the Catholic church on some issues (abortion and embryonic stem cell research), it was a great honor to have the president accept the university’s offer and that he had no plans to rescind the offer.

A majority of the student body is enthusiastic about President Obama coming to speak — he won the campus’ mock election 52.6% to 41.1% over Sen. John McCain — but an active alumni base that skews more conservative than the increasingly liberal campus has been vocal about the selection of the commencement speaker.

“Notre Dame students generally come from conservative backgrounds,” said Mike Laskey, a recent Notre Dame graduate who wrote on the subject of ideological shifts among the student body in his position as executive director of Scholastic, Notre Dame’s campus magazine. “A good college education anywhere introduces new ways of looking at the world and shakes up students’ perspectives. Because students come in conservative but not strongly formed, it makes sense that many experience an ideological shift to the left.”

The president’s decision to speak at Notre Dame also highlights the growing importance of northern Indiana in national politics. In the 2004 election, former President George W. Bush defeated Sen. John Kerry by two points in St. Joseph’s County (where Notre Dame is located).

In 2008, Obama defeated McCain by 17 points, helping the Hoosier State go blue for the first time since 1968.

When President Obama wanted to hold a town hall on the economy to discuss his stimulus package, he visited Elkhart, an Indiana town 15 miles from the Fightin’ Irish campus.

In March 2005, President George W. Bush began a tour to garner support for his social security privatization plan by stopping in at the Joyce Center, the on-campus arena where Notre Dame graduations are held. President Obama will be continuing the tradition of five other sitting presidents to speak at the Notre Dame commencement ceremony, following Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. Reagan’s speech in May 1981 was his first public appearance after a March assassination attempt, while President George W. Bush gave his first commencement address as president in 2001.

“We are not ignoring the critical issue of the protection of life,” Jenkins told campus paper. “On the contrary, we invited him, because we care so much about those issues, and we hope … for this to be the basis of an engagement with him.”

Meantime, the Concord Pastor, Fr. Austin Fleming, an ND alum, offers his typically wise take:

I don’t favor litmus testing politicians as part of vetting them for academic honors. Still, when a potential invitee stands this far apart from the Church on an issue at the heart of its teaching, one can’t help but question the wisdom of such a choice made by a school whose administration building sits next to its own on-campus basilica over whose front doors flies the papal flag.

[snip]

Has Notre Dame forgotten the consistent life ethic championed by Chicago’s late archbishop, Cardinal Joseph Bernadin, the principal speaker and an honorary degree recipient at the ’83 ND commencement? His image of a “seamless garment” of social justice was a simple and yet demanding one. The decision at hand tears the fabric of that Church teaching and Notre Dame’s reputation as the premier American Catholic university. Some will claim that honoring Obama protects my alma mater’s academic integrity. I submit that a deeper integrity is left vulnerable on account of it.

Finally, there’s this thoughtful (and faith-filled) reaction to the story from Emily, another ND alum, over at Shrine of the Holy Whapping:

As a note to the fellow alums and other Notre Dame Family members who read the blog, as you’re well aware from all those 574-631- phone calls on your caller ID, it’s fundraising time. I’d like to encourage you, rather than not giving at all, to consider directing any contributions you might have planned to a new pro-life fund started by the Center for Ethics and Culture. The page goes into very specific detail as to why this sort of fund is the best way to assist campus pro-life initiatives, and how the money will be used. I wish something like this had been around when I was a student trying to navigate the funds allocation process. And, of course, tell the University exactly why your contribution is not going to the general fund (but be nice to those poor minimum-wage students manning the phones).

One of the more unique comments I’ve heard in all of this is the hope that the President would be influenced by Our Lady during his time on campus. But really, why should that be such a singular statement? If we truly believe in the transformative power of our Faith, why should that not be our first thought in this whole affair, rather than an afterthought? So, of course, as we work and pray in prudence and charity, let us recall St. Paul’s exhortation not to empty the Cross of its power. (cf. 1 Cor. 1:17)