NOTRE DAME, PART 1

George Offerman

It has been nearly two years since the now infamous “ND 88” was arrested and had trespassing charges pending over our heads for that duration. Since this was an ongoing case, we had been advised by our attorney Thomas Dixon, to refrain from making direct statements or comments that may have jeopardized our case. Because this particular event and circumstances took on a life of its own and grew larger than any of us ever expected, others picked up the mantle and ran with it, and in the process, discovered more information that was very embarrassing for ND. It is in this way that many in the pro-life movement has shown support for our cause and without pressure from the various groups and influential individuals, we may have been looking at a very different outcome. As far as I am concerned, this is a very large victory for our side and it exposed the weaknesses of the Church and confronted them on their weaknesses and hypocrisy. This is my story of the events that transpired over the two months leading up to the Obama speech and honorary doctorate at Notre Dame.

It’s not my issue.

Nine of us from the Insurrecta Nex team had just returned from a very successful trip to Rome, in which we were able to meet with nine prelates and four representatives to present them with compiled information Oves Sine Pastore (sheep without a shepherd). It became apparent after this trip that we could not depend upon the American Church or most of the Bishops within the body of the USCCB to be overtly supportive of the pro-life movement (although many individual Bishops have been bold in their statements and support). Randall Terry had made suggestions while in Rome, that we ‘need a fallback position’ and it seemed at the time the soon to commence Sotomayor hearings and nomination to the Supreme Court would be this position.

Upon returning to the states, we learned that Notre Dame announced it had invited Obama to speak at it's 2009 commencements, and he had accepted. Notre Dame was also going to honor Obama with an honorary degree, and the school spun this as ‘opening dialogue’ concerning many of his ‘social issues’. Despite the fact it disgusted us, no one other than my wife Kathy thought much about doing anything other than writing letters of protest, and allowing for the local pro-life groups in the Midwest to do something about it. After all, we were focused on Sotomayor and getting the word out about her pro death positions to the country. It was not something we thought we should invest in, and it was seen as a ‘distraction’ from the stated purpose of moving forward in the soon to be supreme court hearings.

It was a couple of days later that Randall Terry had an ‘epiphany’ that it was Obama’s position, coupled with the Catholic Churches complicity in allowing this atrocity to occur that needed more urgent attention than even the Sotomayor hearings. So we gathered as a team, and it was decided that Randall and his family would re locate to South Bend for the next two months and begin a ‘boots on the ground’ campaign to have Obama cancelled from Notre Dame.

At that time, there was little commentary written about this atrocity, and no other groups were present at South Bend, and no other groups demonstrated any interest in pursuing this as an issue equiring their persence there. With a donated office, and two homes rented, the Terry’s and several members of the Insurrecta Nex made South Bend their home. And for the next two months, these vigilant warriors made noise that began to attract a great deal of media, both positive as well as negative. Many groups in the pro-life movement were negative about this effort, and were highly critical of tactics used and were convinced this was the wrong move to make. (Many of these groups ultimately showed up on the weekend of the 17th, and have been taking credit for the publicity and exposure to the media of these efforts).

As the efforts at South Bend began to bear fruits, it began to attract the attention of a much wider swath of the pro-life movement, and people of stature began to commit to this effort. Joan Andrews Bell, a well-known warrior from days gone by committed to the cause. Norma McCorvey, of Jane Doe fame, Fr. Norman Weslin, founder of the Lambs of Christ, Dr. Monica Miller of the Citizens for a Pro Life Society, Jack Ames of Defend Life, Missy Smith of WAKEUP, and eventually Alan Keyes joined in on the efforts.

The arrests start

Randall Terry, along with other protestors, entered the Notre Dame campus on Friday, May 1st with baby carriages filled with bloody plastic fetuses. While Randall was arrested fairly quickly, Diane Roccogrande nearly made it to the administrative building that houses Fr. Jenkins’s office. These arrests lead to a step up in tactics and ultimately set the stage for confrontation with Notre Dame. Had Fr. Jenkins let this effort play itself out instead of ordering the arrests, it may have been likely that little attention would have been paid, and this occasion very well may have generated little interest in the media. Since Fr. Jenkins decided to use the tactic of arrests, it ultimately brought about the ‘media circus’ he was hoping to avoid, and drew attention to his very un Catholic stance by inviting the most pro-death president in the history of the United States to speak at this prestigious university.

Once it was apparent that the tactic to be used by Notre Dame would take in the future for protests would be arrests, the nature of the tactics used by the Insurrecta NEX team also changed. It became apparent that in order to make the point we were attempting to make would require significant sacrifice on the part of all those who planned on going onto the campus. The team also decided to abandon the bloody babies, and simply challenge the school by coming onto campus and praying the rosary. The team thought that Fr. Jenkins would not be so bold as to arrest peaceful prayer warriors praying the rosary on a so called Catholic Campus. But to our chagrin, we were wrong in this assertion and it thus changed the whole strategy of what we wanted to do.

To be continued.

BOOK REVIEW: "WHERE ARE OUR SHEPHERDS?"

George Offerman

This book co written by Coach Dave Daubenmire and Dr. Gregory Thompson takes a very candid view of the multiple problems our society is going through, and accurately nails the cause of the problems. This book is a hard hitting, but is a thorough and honest look at the failings of the Christian Church in doing little to nothing about the issues. It is not for the faint of heart or the lukewarm.

The book starts out with a bang, with the forward laying out the problems, the causes of them, and the dereliction of duty of the church both by not shaping the debate surrounding the problems, and its passivity in surrendering its moral authority, and punishing those with the integrity and honesty to stand up and attempt to address the problems.

The story then moves to the setting at Notre Dame, and gives an overview of the main players, their views , rhetoric and actions, and how this small band of warriors shaped and changed the debate on abortion, and effectively ‘outed’ Obama, and the pretenders who are claiming to be Christian and are in positions of power and authority. The ‘standoff’ at Notre Dame was a prime example of how to stand up to authority in a God fearing manner, as well as seeing a ‘Pharisaic” reaction from the administration, specifically FR. John Jenkins in denying the basic tenets of the faith due to inconvenience and popularity.

The book then moves onto its main theme, that of the failure of the shepherds to be in the forefront of the debate, by neglecting the basics of the Gospel, the safety of the pulpit, the desire to get along and be liked, and ultimately, the inability and reluctance to train and develop warriors to engage in this battle. The examples and stories are very specific and make the point rather clearly that on the ground leadership is absent, and that most of the Shepherds fall into the category of ‘hirelings’ not having that true spirit of loving the church, but living a life of comfort while watching the majority of the flock they are supposed to be tending, go to hell.

One is struck by these examples and stories, that both Dr. Thompson and Coach Daubenmire have ‘walked the walk’ and their ability to utilize scripture properly, gives this read a significant moral gravity that is authentic and difficult to deny. This was a book I had to read in small portions, due to the fact it lead to much contemplation, as well as some heartache when thinking about how much time I have personally wasted on what are peripheral issues, but seemed important just a few years ago.

Their insight into the fact that most shepherds are not taught how to be warriors, along with not being taught what the Bible really says was validated by my own Seminary experience. This information would have never been taught where I went to Seminary, and the idea that one should fight for the faith up to the point of death, if necessary, was never broached. Yet real children die, to the tune of 4,000 per day, and the status quo is more focused on getting along, and not offending men, than offending God.

This book not only nails the problems with our shepherds and church, but is also rich in solutions that will work. Both of these men have been active in their ministries for over 30 years, and have the ‘scars’ to back up their assertions. Any warrior, picking this book up, will be clear on this point from the get go, and like myself, feel gratified that others are out there, that are fighting the good fight, and feeling the same way as these gentlemen. It’s time for the warriors to cover the backs of other warriors, since the mainstream pro life movement will not do that.

I highly recommend this book to anyone, whether a warrior, contemplating active participation in this war, or just to understand the struggles of those willing to engage the current evil in this society. I am personally grateful I was able to spend time in jail with Dr. Thompson and the others, as it was some of the best fellowship I have ever experienced in my life. I would encouraged those who may not yet be ready for the heavy fighting, to read this book with an open mind, and really take away the lessons portrayed. There are not too many ‘training manuals’ out there, but this definitely is a great ‘nuts and bolts’ book, and is a must read for the warrior. Thank you, Dr. Thompson and Coach Daubenmire for writing this.



For more information on this book, and to order, go to:

www.asleepknowmore.com