Today on Kresta - May 14, 2009

Talking about the "things that matter most" on May 14
Live From the Campus of the University of Notre Dame

3:00 – Kresta Comments – Live From Notre Dame

3:20 – At The Gates of Notre Dame
We all knew this fight was coming. The Catholic Church and the Catholic colleges have been heading toward a crash since at least 1990, when John Paul II issued Ex Corde Ecclesiae, his apostolic constitution for Catholic institutions of higher education. And now, at last, the battle is public—brought to fever pitch by Notre Dame’s bestowing of an honorary law degree on a prominent supporter of legalized abortion. Jody Bottum of First Things is here to analyze.

3:40 – Archbishop Burke: ND the “greatest of scandals”
Barack Obama. Notre Dame. Abortion. Marriage. Last week, Archbishop Raymond Burke returned to his native United States from Rome to talk about the moral and patriotic responsibilities of the Catholic American in 2009. Speaking at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, he addressed hot-button issues directly, and made headlines. But the Vatican official — whose role could be described as “chief justice” of the Catholic Church’s “supreme court” — did more than deliver well-received applause lines on controversial issues; at the core of this shepherd’s address were challenges and instruction to every Catholic within the sound of his voice (and, thanks to the Internet, very many more). Kathryn Jean Lopez was able to interview the Archbishop on his flight back to Rome. She joins us.

4:00 – ND Alumni Confirm $13.9 million in withheld donations
Organizers of ReplaceJenkins.com, the online effort that asks alumni and donors to the University of Notre Dame to withhold donations, announced this week that they have tallied nearly $14 million in withheld donations from alumni and donors who feel disenfranchised by the trend of Notre Dame’s leadership to abandon its Catholic identity. The website ReplaceJenkins.com has received over 1,400 pledges from alumni and donors promising to withhold future donations. After more than three weeks since the website was launched, the addition of new alumni and donors on the site continues daily. We talk with spokesman David DiFranco.

4:20 – The Theology of the Body: Presentation Matters
In an interview on ABC's "Nightline" last week, Christopher West, of Theology of the Body fame, compared favorably Pope John Paul II and Hugh Hefner, founder and publisher of Playboy Magazine, calling them his “muses.” Dr. Damian Federyka has spent many years studying John Paul the Great’s Theology of the Body and is here to challenge West’s presentation of TOTB.

5:00 – ND: Identity Crisis
Fr. Frank Pavone will be present on the campus of the University of Notre Dame this weekend. Members of the senior class who have decided not to attend their own graduation have invited him to lead them in prayer at the Class of 2009 Vigil for Life, which will start at 2pm, the same time as the commencement ceremony in which President Obama will be honored. Fr. Pavone stated, “In standing with these students, I am standing with the true spirit of Notre Dame: a pro-life spirit, in harmony with human reason and Catholic Faith. The scandal that has been generated does not represent what Notre Dame is all about; it represents a radical betrayal of what Notre Dame is all about. I am encouraged by the pro-life activities of so many student groups on this campus – activities that are carried out all year round.” He joins us.

5:20 – ND Response: We Want Our University Back
ND Response has received official permission to host a prayerful and constructive demonstration on the campus of the University of Notre Dame on the weekend of Commencement. As students of this University, they invite all those interested in respectfully and constructively standing alongside us as we give witness to Notre Dame’s Catholic identity and affirm the sanctity of life. The events include Bishop John D’Arcy and Fr. Frank Pavone and will take place Saturday and Sunday on the camps of Notre Dame. John Daly of NDResponse is here with the details.

5:40 – Angels and Demons: The Review
Quick, how did Copernicus die? Dan Brown readers “know” the answer: “Outspoken scientists like Copernicus” were “murdered by the church for revealing scientific truths,” according to a tag-team history lesson by Harvard “symbolist” Robert Langdon and CERN director Maximilian Kohler in Angels & Demons, the predecessor to Brown’s blockbuster sequel, The Da Vinci Code. Tomorrow the new Ron Howard adaptation of Angels & Demons — reworked as a sequel rather than a prequel to Howard’s 2006 smash The Da Vinci Code — will bring another installment of the Dan Brown version of history to millions of moviegoers. While the new film doesn’t repeat the specific charge of the murder of Copernicus, it maintains the larger historical context set forth in Brown’s Angels & Demons: the Church’s murderous persecution of science, especially in the Illuminati, a secret society that Brown claims counted Copernicus, Galileo and Bernini among its members. We have the official review with Steven Greydanus.