Mary Ann Glendon was all set to receive the Laetare Medal, Notre Dame’s top honor, at next month’s commencement. The Harvard law professor and former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican now says she will decline the honor. In a letter to university President the Rev. John Jenkins, Glendon says she objects to having President Obama speaking and receiving an honorary degree at graduation:

This, as you must know, was in disregard of the U.S. bishops’ express request of 2004 that Catholic institutions “should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles” and that such persons “should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.” That request, which in no way seeks to control or interfere with an institution’s freedom to invite and engage in serious debate with whomever it wishes, seems to me so reasonable that I am at a loss to understand why a Catholic university should disrespect it.

Glendon was also dismayed that the school was trying to use her and her acceptance speech at commencement to “balance” the event:

A commencement . . . is supposed to be a joyous day for the graduates and their families. It is not the right place, nor is a brief acceptance speech the right vehicle, for engagement with the very serious problems raised by Notre Dame’s decision—in disregard of the settled position of the U.S. bishops—to honor a prominent and uncompromising opponent of the Church’s position on issues involving fundamental principles of justice.

You can read her letter in its entirety here. For more background on the controversy, read Jamie Dean’s “Caps and frowns.”