..to the bishops’ statement on pro-abortion, etc. Catholic speakers at Catholic colleges and universities.

The problem becomes more complex when schools honor lawmakers for accomplishments unrelated to their positions on church issues.

Boston College Law School chose as its commencement speaker Walter Dellinger, who served as acting solicitor general and adviser for President Bill Clinton and has been an advocate of abortion rights. University spokesman Jack Dunn said the law school was not honoring Dellinger for his position on abortion but “for his legal accomplishments.”

Notre Dame’s Storin said he was most concerned by the bishops’ ban on providing “platforms” for offending lawmakers. He said that this provision could undermine academic freedom.

Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for Washington Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, head of the bishops’ task force on church relations with Catholic politicians, said the bishops meant to bar policymakers from speaking on “the topic where they disagree with the church,” not prohibit their participation in educational events.