America’s most famous new Catholic appeared on FOX News the other day (what a surprise!) to chat with Greta Van Susteren about a whole raftload of issues, including the ongoing Notre Dame story. A snip:

VAN SUSTEREN: We continue now with former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Mr. Speaker, at Notre Dame, there’s a little bit of a controversy brewing. Some students have begun protesting, not wanting President Obama to speak at the university because of some of his beliefs that are contrary to some of the beliefs of the Catholic church. Should he speak at this university commencement? And is this a big controversy or not a big one at all?

GINGRICH: Oh, I think it’s a very big controversy. If you contrast – – well, it’ll be interesting to watch whatever he says and compare it to President Reagan’s speech at Notre Dame, which was the “source of all strength'” speech. Vince Haley has an article (INAUDIBLE) on line tomorrow morning pointing out that President Reagan very daringly and very boldly defined communism and the future of freedom and said that our freedoms come from that higher being which is the source of all of our strengths. Be an interesting contrast to see what President Obama says.

But I would say to the students that rather than protest, why don’t they work up an e-mail and Twitter and Facebook and telephone campaign and see how many right to life meetings they could organize across the country to coincide with the exact same time of President Obama’s commencement speech.

It would be a great sign of the country’s interest if across America that day, millions of Americans took a few moments to consider the importance of protecting the unborn and to consider how wrong it was for President Obama to have favored infanticide when he was a state senator and to thank President Obama for raising the issue so that that day could become a day when the entire nation might, in a prayerful and solemn way, think about whether or not there is a right to life.

And our Declaration of Independence does say we are endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It may well be that President Obama may accidentally trigger the spark that creates a nationwide awareness on that day in a way he and his schedulers could never have imagined.

VAN SUSTEREN: Is this — the controversy is over right to life, and the fact that it’s a Catholic university. I mean, lots of times, you know, you don’t agree with everyone who speaks at the universities. I mean, we don’t agree with every speaker all the time. Is this such a core issue that the choice by Notre Dame was really a huge mistake to the Catholic church?

GINGRICH: Well, look, first of all, it’s been pointed out to me correctly that as a relatively new convert, I probably shouldn’t try to in any way correct the head of Notre Dame, who, after all, has a long and distinguished career. So let me instead simply suggest that the question of when life begins is at the heart of Catholic doctrine — it is something the pope has been very clear about, it’s something the entire hierarchy’s very clear about — and that the question of whether or not babies should be killed is quite clear in Catholic teaching. And in that sense, it is certainly a controversial choice.

As I said, responded to properly, prayerfully and in a civil way, it might well become a moment when the entire nation has a new conversation. And my prediction is very few people will favor the kind of infanticide that Senator Obama favored when he was in the state Senate. And very few people will understand the radicalism of the Freedom of Choice Act which would override every state restriction, which the Obama administration would like to do, or the lifting of the conscience clause which protects religious people from being coerced into performing abortions.

And so maybe this day will turn out in a way to be a blessing by God, and maybe it’ll turn out in a providential way to be exactly the right conversation to have at Notre Dame and across America.