Observer Roundup

As fellow Domeblogger Dan noted, today's Observer provides plenty of food for thought. First up is the interview with radical pro-life activist Randall Terry, he of the bloody baby dolls and aborted baby pictures. He goes out of his way to chastise ND Response as "not equal to the task before them," for which I am profoundly grateful, since it is now crystal clear that Terry is not here at ND Response's behest and that ND Response does not condone his tactics. While I believe that graphic pictures of abortion have their place, we are not going to change any minds by trying to "wreck" graduation for the seniors. Unfortunately many see Terry's tactics as emblematic of the pro-life movement. We need debate, not sensation - and above all, we need to respond in a Christlike manner. ND Response is on the right track.

Next is a letter from an alumnus bemoaning the fact that the students protesting Obama's appearance are "isolating themselves from the outside world." A common complaint among our detractors - one of the students from the article I posted yesterday basically said "stop complaining, America is looking at us funny." To which I reply - since when are Christians supposed to care what the rest of the world thinks? Jesus warns us repeatedly that if we follow him, we can expect ridicule and ostracism. Doing the right thing frequently gets you criticized by the secular majority. What part of "in the world, but not of it" did not come through there?

It's true that just because we are going counter to society, it does not mean that we are following Christ - something important to remember. But this alum seems to completely misunderstand the reason for the protests - not to disengage from the world, but to engage with it on a Catholic Christian basis. He mistakes students' unwillingness to conform to the world for a misguided hermetic isolation. Unfortunate, really.