Group Wants Notre Dame Removed From Catholic Directory Over Obama Invite

The American Life League is calling for the University of Notre Dame to be removed from the official list of Catholic institutions after the university invited President Obama, an abortion-rights supporter, to give the commencement address.

The group, a Catholic pro-life organization, said in a statement Wednesday that removing the school from the Official Catholic Directory would cut Notre Dame off from a lot of Catholic foundation funding.

Thousands of people have signed a petition through another organization to protest Obama's scheduled May 17 commencement, complaining that Obama's views on abortion and stem cell research "directly contradict" Roman Catholic teachings.

But the American Life League wants punitive measures. The group's statement Wednesday said the league, after learning that the university had invited Obama and planned to give him an honorary degree, interviewed Notre Dame students and found that some were disdainful toward Catholic teachings.

"We found a tragic attitude at the University of Notre Dame -- apathy, if not hostility, toward the faith," Judie Brown, ALL president, said in the statement. "The university is backing away from the Catholic Church."

Representatives of Notre Dame have said they do not plan to rescind the invitation but expected criticism.

Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame's president, said in a statement last month that the invitation does not mean the university supports all of Obama's positions but that he will be honored as an "inspiring leader."