University Of Notre Dame

Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young will deliver the commencement address May 15 at the University of Notre Dame, the university announced Wednesday. Young also will receive an honorary doctor of law degree.

Tommy Rees turned 18 on May 22, which means he should be focused on the nuances of shaving. Instead, late Saturday afternoon, he will be carrying the hopes of millions of people, many whose last names begin with a capital O and an apostrophe. He will be in hostile territory, in a marvelous old stadium whose name conjures up images of lions chasing Christians. He will have thousands there in person yelling for him, and many thousands more yelling against him. A national telecast makes that millions.

The Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, who has been head of the University of Notre Dame for 35 years, longer than any other president of a major American college, plans to retire next year, a spokesman said last week. Hesburgh will be 70 next May 27.

Charlie Weis is no longer Notre Dame's coach, but that doesn't mean he's out of Pete Carroll's hair. Weis said Sunday that comments he made about Carroll in an interview published by a website were taken "totally out of context." In a question-and-answer session posted Saturday by IrishIllustrated.com senior editor Tim Prister, Weis was asked: "Is it frustrating to you Pete Carroll, for example, portrayed in one way . . ." Weis was quoted as responding: "Let me ask you this question: You guys know about things that go on in different places.

Michelle Lodyga, a goalie at Mater Dei High School, has signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Notre Dame, her father, Richard, said Tuesday. Lodyga was an All-Southern Section and a Times' All-County selection as well as the Angelus League's most valuable player.

The University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., voted unanimously not to include homosexuality in its anti-discrimination policy, fearing the move would allow the courts to interpret Roman Catholic doctrine. The university's Board of Fellows, charged with maintaining the school's Roman Catholic character, said in a statement that they did not "believe that the university should leave to civil courts the interpretation and application of church teaching."

One football era--Lou Holtz's regular-season coaching tenure at the University of Notre Dame--will end Saturday when the Fighting Irish play USC. But another will continue when the Irish Knight Band from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks performs at the Coliseum. Every year since 1982, the University of Notre Dame has left its own band at home when traveling to Los Angeles.

Notre Dame mourned the deaths of two freshman members of the women's swim team killed in a bus crash early Friday, remembering their lives at a Mass celebrated by the school's president. Killed were Margaret Murphy (Megan) Beeler of nearby Granger and Colleen Hipp of St. Louis, each 19. "The Notre Dame community today is shocked and sorrowful," Father Edward A. Malloy told thousands of students and faculty members who filled the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

U.S. officials should have given a scholar a chance to show he was no supporter of terrorism before barring him from the country, a federal appeals court has ruled. Professor Tariq Ramadan had his U.S. visa revoked in 2004 as he was about to take a tenured teaching job at the University of Notre Dame. His subsequent applications for a new visa were denied on the grounds that he had donated $1,336 to a charity that gave money to Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals said the government should have given him a chance to prove he didn't know his money would go to Hamas.

A former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican said she wouldn't accept the University of Notre Dame's top honor at commencement next month because the Roman Catholic school invited President Obama to speak to graduates. Harvard University law professor and antiabortion scholar Mary Ann Glendon said in a letter to the South Bend school's president that giving Obama an honorary degree violated the U.S. bishops' 2004 statement that Catholic institutions shouldn't honor people whose actions conflict with the church's moral principles.

Golden boys Former Southland high school stars Matt Barkley and Jimmy Clausen face off in a game that could go a long way in determining each of their legacies. USC's Barkley showed no signs of timidity at Ohio State or California, so there's no reason to think the freshman will be fazed by the grand stage that is Notre Dame Stadium. Barkley has completed 59% of his passes, but has only three touchdowns with two interceptions. That could change against a team ranked 110th among 120 major colleges in passing defense.

Score one for Notre Dame fans. Their history of rowdy receptions for USC led to a change in routine Friday when Coach Pete Carroll and his team arrived at Notre Dame Stadium for a walk through. And Carroll typically loves routine. In years past, buses carrying USC's team stopped on the street outside the stadium, where energized players rocked the vehicles side to side before exiting and walking a gantlet of fans to the entrance. On Friday, at USC's request, security officers taped off the plaza in front of the entrance, forcing fans back and allowing USC's three buses within steps of the gate.

As a high school football game unfolded before a Cincinnati crowd of about 10,000 in a rain-dappled bowl known as the Pit, eyes strayed to the back of one end zone. There stood a handful of college players, including one wearing an Elder High shirt despite previously never having spent a minute there. Jimmy Clausen was a weekend guest of Notre Dame teammate Kyle Rudolph, an Elder grad, along with fellow Irish quarterback Dayne Crist. Rudolph outfitted both with the apparel from his alma mater.

Matt Barkley handled himself impressively in front of more than 106,000 screaming fans at Ohio State. The USC quarterback weathered a California crowd of more than 71,000 that received specific game-day instructions on how to distract the freshman with noise. On Saturday, Barkley will get his third major road test -- this time in perhaps college football's most venerable venue. When sixth-ranked USC plays No. 25 Notre Dame at Notre Dame Stadium, Barkley has a chance to make his mark in the sport's most intense intersectional rivalry.

U.S. officials should have given a scholar a chance to show he was no supporter of terrorism before barring him from the country, a federal appeals court has ruled. Professor Tariq Ramadan had his U.S. visa revoked in 2004 as he was about to take a tenured teaching job at the University of Notre Dame. His subsequent applications for a new visa were denied on the grounds that he had donated $1,336 to a charity that gave money to Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals said the government should have given him a chance to prove he didn't know his money would go to Hamas.

Confronting the nation's deep schism over abortion, President Obama on Sunday called for greater understanding on all sides and "open hearts, open minds, fair-minded words" on the issue as he spoke to graduates at one of America's premier Catholic universities. Obama emphasized the importance of common ground as opponents of abortion rights protested his appearance and the honorary degree he received from the University of Notre Dame.

Confronting the nation's deep schism over abortion, President Obama on Sunday called for greater understanding on all sides and "open hearts, open minds, fair-minded words" on the issue as he spoke to graduates at one of America's premier Catholic universities. Obama emphasized the importance of common ground as opponents of abortion rights protested his appearance and the honorary degree he received from the University of Notre Dame.

The apartment rent was $140 a month. Sometimes his Uncle Louis and his Aunt Olympia--Olympia Dukakis, the actress--sent money to help pay it. Otherwise, his diabetic mother scrimped up enough from the $200 monthly welfare disability payment that was her only income. Or Chris chipped in with the meager amounts he made at Tabor Lutheran Church, mopping floors. The two-story brownstone occupies the northeast corner of 81st and Burnham on the Southeast Side, Chicago's version of the Bronx.

The Catholic outrage toward the University of Notre Dame for its plan to honor President Obama at its commencement ceremony Sunday is unprecedented -- but only in its scope, not in its occurrence. Obama's pro-abortion-rights stance has prompted 74 American bishops to criticize the honor; some are even ready to cut ties with the university. More than 360,000 Catholics have signed the Cardinal Newman Society's petition at NotreDame- Scandal.com.

When University of Notre Dame valedictorian E. Brennan Bollman learned she'd be sharing a stage at Sunday's commencement with President Obama, she was elated. "I am a strong supporter of President Obama because I think he lives the values of justice and working toward peace," the 22-year-old senior said Tuesday. "President Obama takes a lot of pro-life positions. I don't think that he is strongly pro-abortion."