I received Randall Terry's letter to alumni. It reminded me of the day before the election, when the NRA called. You can guess what they thought was the most serious issue facing the nation. Yes, with everything that was going on, they were worried that President Obama might restrict their access to semi-automatic weapons. I know that Mr. Terry views his cause as unassailably right, a moral cause - the president as Pontius Pilate. It doesn't matter so much if his government wages war, kills live souls, allows torture, ignores social injustice or permits the world environment to degrade for future generations, just as long as it polices pregnant women.
If I were inclined to write Pope Benedict, I might suggest that his statements in Africa on condoms were backward and counterproductive in the extreme, although I would still be happy to let him speak at Notre Dame. Academic freedom and the First Amendment are not just words to me. Mr. Terry and his friends are misguided, and I am confident that Notre Dame will treat President Obama with the respect and kindness that he certainly deserves.
Fred Torrisi
alum
class of 1970
April 26
