"We Support Notre Dame" Founders Not As Non-Partisan As They Appear

It turns out that, in response to the growing (and much-deserved) criticism of the University of Notre Dame and its President, Fr. John I. Jenkins, for inviting Barack Obama to speak at Notre Dame's 2009 commencement (and receive an honorary law degree), a support group has arisen to back the university's decision. "We Support Notre Dame" is a collective effort of four groups - Notre Dame Alums in Support of Fr. Jenkins (a Facebook group), Faithful America (a self-described multireligious effort that was essentially created to fan the flames of outrage over the Abu Ghraib prison scandal), Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, and - surprise, surprise! - Catholics United. It's really three groups, as Catholics in Alliance and Catholics United are mirror groups founded by the same individuals.

The de facto voice of "We Support Notre Dame" is that of Tom Mattzie, who in television appearances relating to this issue identifies himself only as a Notre Dame graduate. In offering his support for the university's decision to invite Obama, Mattzie offers the usual platitudes: abortion is only one issue among many (the infamous "seamless garment" approach), Obama is in line with Catholic teaching on many issues, his is a historic Presidency, commencement invites should be opportunities for dialogue, etc.

What Mattzie fails to mention in his appearances is his long and storied career as a liberal political operative. His name is linked to several Democrat campaigns, he is a frequent contributor to left-wing blogs such as The Daily Kos and The Huffington Post, and he has been involved with a whole laundry list of notoriously liberal political advocacy and 527 groups, including the above-mentioned Faithful America (which he founded), the short-lived Americans Against Escalation in Iraq (which he also founded), Accountable America (also founded), and - most notoriously - the George Soros-funded MoveOn.org (which he ran during the 2004 campaign cycle). Bear that in mind any time his name is linked to a supposedly non-partisan effort.

It turns out, by the way, that Mattzie isn't the only member of "We Support Notre Dame" with connections to George Soros. According to an October 20, 2008 press release, the The Catholic League states that George Soros "is connected to two apologists for abortion rights, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and Catholics United. In 2006, Soros’ Open Society Institute gave Catholics in Alliance $100,000 (double the amount he gave in 2005), and in the same year Catholics in Alliance listed Catholics United on its 990 as an organization with which it has a formal relationship. John Podesta, who runs the Soros-funded organization, Center for American Progress, admits that he works closely with Catholics in Alliance and Catholics United." (Hat tip once again to The Curt Jester for bringing this to my attention.)

I've detailed in previous blog posts the nature of the group Catholics United. A look at their own website, including their blog, will show their long history of serving as uncritical apologists for left-wing politicians while saving all of their criticism for right-leaning politicians and those who criticize the left. Make no mistake: this is not a group dedicated to promoting the greater glory of God. It and its sister apostate (not a typo), Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, are poorly-disguised political front groups. Their lack of theological insight on even the most basic Catholic moral principles and failure to address matters not related to politics or pet "social justice" projects (through which they urge political activism) speaks to this point. And the facts bear out that the same is true for the conglomerate that is "We Support Notre Dame."

Please understand, I am not saying that everyone who supports Notre Dame's invitation of Barack Obama to speak at commencement is a partisan liberal operative (as opposed to those who really are partisan liberal operatives - such as the component parts of "We Support Notre Dame" - who are chronically incapable of seeing anything other than a right-wing conspiracy when criticism is leveled at them or those they support). However, the more information comes to light, the more it becomes apparent that the most vocal supporters of Obama's Notre Dame invitation have been the most vocal supporters of Obama all along. God bless!


In Jesus and Mary,
Gerald