<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;"><DIV>My boss, Richard Viguerie (who is a lector at St. Peter's Church in Washington, Virginia) sent this news release out late yesterday.</DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff size=3>Art</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><A href="http://conservativehq.com/blog_post/show/163">http://conservativehq.com/blog_post/show/163</A></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT size=3>Richard Viguerie: <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT size=3>Notre Dame honor for Obama is part of a collapse in <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT size=3>American institutions and their leaders<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT size=3><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></I></B></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 6pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><FONT size=3><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt">(Manassas, Virginia)<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt">The decision by the University of Notre Dame to honor Barack Obama is “part of the general collapse in American institutions and the failure of America’s leadership class,” Richard A. Viguerie said. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 6pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt"><FONT size=3>President Obama is scheduled to speak in May at Notre Dame’s commencement, at which he will receive an honorary doctorate.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><FONT size=3><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, pointed out that, </SPAN><FONT face="Times New Roman">“</FONT><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Barack Obama is a pro-abortion extremist.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He supports elective abortion at any point during pregnancy, and even afterward; he opposes protecting children who survive abortions.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He supports using U.S. taxpayers’ money to pay for elective abortions, in our country and in other countries.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He is working to strip medical professionals of their right not to perform abortions.”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT size=3><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT size=3>“Obviously, it is a gross violation of Catholic moral principles for Notre Dame to honor Barack Obama,” he said. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT size=3> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT size=3><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>“Notre Dame is one of many Catholic institutions that are C.I.N.O. – Catholic in Name Only.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>From honoring pro-abortion politicians to hosting ‘The Vagina Monologues,’ many Catholic colleges and other Catholic institutions are walking away from Catholic values.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>As a result, many Catholics are walking away from the Church.”<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT size=3> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 6pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt"><FONT size=3>“When,” Viguerie asked, “is the last time a typical American Catholic heard a Sunday sermon about the cultural collapse that is happening in this country?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Why have bishops and priests gone mostly silent on the subject of pre-marital sex, adultery, homosexuality, same sex marriage, pornography, divorce, and modesty in dress and manners?”<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 6pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt"><FONT size=3>He added: “It’s time for each and every Catholic to reconsider his or her relationship to all Catholic institutions.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>No Catholic should support any supposedly Catholic institution, such as Notre Dame, that refuses to abide by the principles of the Church.”<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 6pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt"><FONT size=3>The Obama/Notre Dame scandal is part of a wider pattern, Viguerie noted, “not just in Catholic institutions.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>One institution after another has failed the American people.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Wall Street, the National Media, Corporate America, Washington, Hollywood, and leaders of most religious organizations have betrayed the American people who look to them for guidance.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In turn, Americans have lost confidence in the leaders of these institutions.”<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 6pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt"><FONT size=3>But, Viguerie said, there is hope. “With the protests against the Bush-Obama bailout-and-bonus program, and the ‘tea parties’ spreading across the country, we are seeing the beginning of a grassroots revolt that, I believe, will raise up a new generation of leaders.”<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 6pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt"><FONT size=3>– 30 –<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt"><FONT size=3>NOTE TO EDITORS: Richard A. Viguerie pioneered political direct mail and has been called “one of the creators of the modern conservative movement” (<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Nation</I> magazine), one of the “conservatives of the century” (<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Washington Times</I>), and one of 2008’s “top 25 influencers” among Republicans (<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">NewsMax</I> magazine).<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He is the author of <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><A href="http://www.amazon.com/Conservatives-Betrayed-Government-Republicans-Conservative/dp/1566252857">Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause</A></I>.</FONT></SPAN></DIV></td></tr></table><br>