Father Jenkins urges graduates to express beliefs respectfully | News | Notre Dame News | University of Notre Dame Skip To Content Skip To Navigation Skip To Search University of Notre Dame Notre Dame News Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Home Contact Search Menu Home › News › Father Jenkins urges graduates to express beliefs respectfully Father Jenkins urges graduates to express beliefs respectfully Published: May 07, 2012 Author: Dennis Brown In a commencement address Monday (May 7) at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., president of the University of Notre Dame, urged graduates to hold fast to their convictions but express them in “more skillful, more respectful ways.” Father Jenkins spoke to Wesley’s 130th graduating class in a ceremony at the Washington National Cathedral. “We in this country are in the midst of a social crisis, a harsh and deepening split between groups that are all too ready to see evil in each other,” Father Jenkins said. “Each side has never been more eager yet more unable to dominate the other. Both sides call for change, but each believes it’s the other side that must change.” In direct reference to the 2012 elections, Father Jenkins said: “So of all the questions posed in this campaign season, the most important one is rarely asked. Now, when the country is increasingly diverse, when the number of disputed moral questions is rising, when citizens have deep and opposing passions that neither side will give up for the sake of civility: Can citizens of the United States learn to express their convictions in more skillful, more respectful ways? “We need an answer. A country whose citizens treat one another with scorn does not have a bright future.” To create more civil discourse in our society, Father Jenkins urged the use of persuasion rather than coercion to convince others of our most passionate convictions. “We have to call on our conscience to explore our convictions and how we express them. Even in the case of my most noble belief, I must ask myself: Am I trying to advance this belief through persuasion or coercion, with respect or contempt, by accepting sacrifice or imposing sacrifice? When I refuse to compromise, is it because I love a principle, or because I hate the people on the other side? “If we are determined to keep our convictions free of malice, then I propose that we strive to meet one simple test for public discourse: Our attempts to express our convictions should take the form of an effort to persuade. … If I don’t try to persuade others, but only condemn them, then I am not showing the respect that love demands. To stand apart, proclaim my position, and refuse to talk except to judge does not reduce hatred or promote love. And if it does neither, how can it be inspired by God?” Inaugurated as Notre Dame’s 17th president in 2005, Father Jenkins is in his second five-year term. He is a professor of philosophy and author of “Knowledge and Faith in Thomas Aquinas.” The full speech is available online. Posted In: Faith Home Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Related October 03, 2022 dCEC to Award 2023 ND Evangelium Vitae Medal to Robert P. George September 22, 2022 In memoriam: Rev. Richard Warner, C.S.C., longtime leader for Notre Dame, Congregation of Holy Cross September 15, 2022 In new book on global Catholicism, Provost John McGreevy explores modern history, current challenges of the Church September 15, 2022 Death penalty abolitionist Sister Helen Prejean to speak at Notre Dame September 14, 2022 Apostolic nuncio to Great Britain to deliver the 2022 Keeley Vatican Lecture For the Media Contact Office of Public Affairs and Communications Notre Dame News 500 Grace Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Pinterest © 2022 University of Notre Dame Search Mobile App News Events Visit Accessibility Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn