SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Three years after facing protests for having Democratic President Barack Obama give a commencement speech, the University of Notre Dame has invited Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney to speak on campus during their campaigns, the school announced Monday.
The university said the Rev. John Jenkins, the school's president, and student body President Brett Rocheleau addressed letters to the two candidates and their running mates offering Notre Dame as a "forum for serious political discussion." The university said the purpose of the invitations was to provide the campus community a firsthand impression of the candidates and their messages.
Obama's appearance at the 2009 commencement, including being awarded an honorary degree, sparked protests over his support of abortion rights and embryonic stem-cell research. Some called for Jenkins to resign, and dozens of bishops questioned Jenkins' judgment for inviting the president to speak. Hundreds who opposed Obama's speech attended an outdoor Mass and rally held on campus at the same time as the commencement.
Members of Chicago-based Pro-Life Action League were among those that protested Obama's appearance in 2009. Ann Scheidler, the league's coordinator for special events, said Monday the group had no problem with the university issuing the latest invitation to Obama.
"It's an opportunity for discussion and if they are both invited, it's an equal opportunity," she said. "Our big fight with the university over having President Obama come and speak was that it was more of a forum for a promotion for his policies without an opportunity for questions or debate."
The university said the invitations to the candidates continued a long-standing tradition established in 1952 by the Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, in his first year as president of the university. Republican Dwight Eisenhower and Democrat Adlai Stevenson both spoke at the school.
Others who have accepted have included Richard Nixon, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Joe Lieberman.
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