We welcome guest-blogger Tony Hollowell.  Many of you know him as "that bald guy" who served at our wedding.  He also served in Sarah's ACE community in Biloxi.  We welcome him as a fellow soldier for the bright yellow light of truth. 

Here is his response to Greg's comment.  (Another beloved fellow ND-ACE alum).  Also, see my respone to Greg here.

I am filled with great joy at your bold and engaging response!  As a respectful friend and colleague in Catholic Education, I am encouraged to know that we share several points of agreement:

1. Abortion is a murder.  It is not just a choice.  It is a choice to kill a living being.  I agree the issue is complex, and who is to be blamed for this murder is a judgment that is reserved only for our King, but it is murder.
2. We should seek, as you noted, to be "people (who) actually respectfully communicated with each other about their conscientious political stances." The purpose of this blog is not merely to condemn but to engage in dialogue.  As I look at the blog posts so far, your post is the only one that utilizes words written in all-caps when you state, "WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON.  SIGN THIS PETITION...TELL ME YOU ARE GOING TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT?!?!"  Your post is the only one that has a tone of yelling, so I find it odd that you are suggesting that other people stop their yelling when you are clearly engaging in the same tactics which go so much against your "deep-seeded beliefs."  So let us engage one another respectfully, admitting that we have deep-seeded beliefs and willing to work from there.  I would also suggest that engaging each other respectfully does not necessitate the removal of emotion.   Martin Luther King Jr. clearly did not abandon emotion when he engaged the racist culture of the 1960s.  President Reagan did not abandon emotion when he engaged the Russian government.  And let us not abandon emotion here.  I also want to be clear that I am not offended by your emotion.  It gives your arguments great poignancy and provides a basis of conviction, but I would only ask that you do not seek to remove emotion and "yelling" from argument when it permeates your own post.

Now, let us engage in dialogue.  Several comments are worth noting.  The first thread of your post notes that "I see a fear laden desire to silence a voice...trembling at the idea of a dialogue with someone who takes a political stance on one issue which is so radically different than their own."  I would ask that you point out what part of my post suggests an attempt to "silence a voice".  Where do you find "trembling fear" in what I wrote?  Nowhere in my post did I say that I do not want to hear from President Obama.  Nowhere did I suggest that his voice should not be heard.  What I am arguing is that President Obama should not be given a platform and honor at a Catholic University.  I would point out that I am only agreeing with the Bishops, the Shepherds of the Catholic Faith.  They have spoken clearly on this issue, and they have stated that a Catholic University should not provide this platform and this honor, and yet the University is doing so.  This is contrary to the teaching of the Shepherds that lead both of us and all of our fellow Catholics into Heaven.  They are Shepherds of our Souls, and so I hope you would not begrudge me for agreeing with them, and seeking that my beloved University also follow the will of these Shepherds.  Greg, do you think I am attempting to silence a voice when I take a stance that is in conformity with our Bishops?

Also, I have already heard from President Obama, and I assure you that I continue to listen.  It is because I listen to him that I know I disagree with his actions and his policies and his convictions.  It is because the Catholic Church listens to him that they know he should not be given a platform to speak at a Catholic University.  I am not trying to silence President Obama.  The University of Notre Dame is the institution that is not listening.  It is the University of Notre Dame that is not listening to the will of the Catholic Bishops.  The same Shepherds of our Souls also have guidance for our Catholic Universities, and when a soul wanders from the Shepherd, the Shepherd calls out.  The Church speaks out, and calls back those who have walked away from its voice, and I am asking the University to not walk away from this voice.

I am so glad you mentioned your support of Catholic Social Teaching.  Your discussion of the themes of Social Teaching brings to light a great concern that both the Catholic Church and I have, which is the Dignity of the Human Person.  The Catholic Church has made it clear that, though there is no particular order for the "themes," the Dignity of the Human Person will always come first.  This is the pillar upon which all other themes develop.  And just as a house built on sand will fall, so will any social policy fail if it does not maintain the first theme.  What good is it to establish "the right to live a healthy life through programs reforming health care...the right to die with more than a dollar in hand through programs reforming social security" when this same society supports programs that devalue the Dignity of the Human Person by disregarding the unborn as a clump of cells to be discarded by "choice"?  The Dignity of the Human Person is the foundation upon which all other social themes are built, and any attack at the foundation is more grave than an attack on any of the others, and it demands primacy over all other social issues.  Again, not only is this my "opinion" and "deep-seeded belief", but it is also the clear teaching of the Catholic Faith.

"It is better to light one candle than it is to curse the darkness."  Greg, a light has only one purpose: to expose what is hidden in the darkness.  What you have found on this post is not a condemnation of the darkness.  This blog is about exposing that which is hidden in the darkness.  It is about sharing the truth, not just of those who write, but of the Catholic Faith.  I seek to condemn no one, but I seek to share the truth, I seek to bring to light that which is veiled in darkness, I seek to bring to the table my vision of the Truth.  When a light shines in the darkness, it does not always reveal "happy" or "easy" truths.  A light can only expose that which is hidden, and sometimes that which is hidden reveals to be an evil of great proportions.  The history of the 20th century bears this great truth, and it continues this day.  If you read "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" by MLK (you probably already have), I think you would agree that Dr. King engages in "very reactionary responses to deep-seeded beliefs."  I will continue to pray for those in leadership at the University to continue to follow and listen to the Shepherds of the Church and, furthermore, I will pray that they do not provide this platform and honor to someone who continues to undermine the deepest moral fabric of our Catholic Faith, the Dignity of the Human Person.

God Bless,
Tony Hollowell