I Need to Pay More Attention: Cardinal George Slams ND

Right after wondering if Cardinal George will come out on this, I find that he already has. In spades.

It's all on LifeSite:

"So quite apart from the president's own positions, which are well known, the problem is in that you have a Catholic university - the flagship Catholic university - do something that brought extreme embarrassment to many, many people who are Catholic," said the cardinal.

"So whatever else is clear, it is clear that Notre Dame didn't understand what it means to be Catholic when they issued this invitation, and didn't anticipate the kind of uproar that would be consequent to the decision, at least not to the extent that it has happened," said George.

The Cardinal urged concerned Catholics "to do what you are supposed to be doing: to call, to email, to write letters, to express what's in your heart about this: the embarrassment, the difficulties."

His Eminence does a fine job of nut-shelling the opposition's views here, and I applaud his candor in doing so. Of course, the question remains as to whether or not Fr. Jenkins & Co. are paying attention.

On a side note, I'd like to point out something else Cardinal George said:

Cardinal George prefaced his remarks by noting that although he is the president of the USCCB, he does not have jurisdiction or authority over other bishops. His role, he indicated, nonetheless has "some moral authority, without any kind of jurisdiction or any sort of real authority."

I find this a very refreshing contrast to the somewhat prevelant opinion that holds up the national episcopal conferences as some sort of binding arm of the Magisterium. Sounds like Cardinal George has been talking to Bishop Martino.