(LifeSite) Over 1500 Catholics are calling on Notre Dame University to rescind the Laetare Medal given to U.S. President Joe Biden in 2016 considering his fervent support for abortion in direct violation of Church teaching.
Currently, over fifteen hundred alumni and friends of Notre Dame Catholic University have signed a letter appealing to the university to withdraw the 2016 Laetare Medal awarded to then-Vice President Joe Biden.
“Despite personally identifying as a practicing Catholic, President Biden has become the Church’s most prominent, powerful, and ardent adversary on abortion,” Timothy Dempsey, Executive Director and Charter Board Member of Sycamore Trust, a group dedicated to protecting Notre Dame’s Catholic identity, told LifeSiteNews.
The letter is addressed to Father John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., Notre Dame’s 17th president who just stepped down from his position. It was under Jenkin’s administration that the award was given to Biden.
The appeal is also copied to Father Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., his successor, and the current Board of Trustees Chairman, John J. Brennan.
“During Father Jenkins’s tenure, honors previously granted to Theodore McCarrick, Bill Cosby, and Jean Vanier were revoked to preserve the integrity of the awards and protect the University’s reputation,” Dempsey explained.
“The case for rescinding President Biden’s Laetare Medal is even more compelling, given his relentless pursuit of policies that promote abortion and violate the dignity of human life,” he argued.
According to Notre Dame, the Laetare Medal is given to a Catholic “whose genius has ennobled the arts and sciences, illustrated the ideals of the Church and enriched the heritage of humanity.”
The medal bears the Latin inscription: “Magna est veritas et praevalebit,” which translates to “Truth is mighty, and it shall prevail.”
