SOUTH BEND (IN)
Journal Gazette
By Ken Kusmer
Associated Press
A Roman Catholic cardinal who once compared U.S. media coverage of the church’s sex abuse crisis to Stalin and Hitler is traveling to the University of Notre Dame to speak Thursday as part of events surrounding the inauguration of the school’s new president.
Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, the archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, will speak at the Notre Dame Forum, which has been started by the Rev. John I. Jenkins as part of his inauguration as the university’s 17th president.
A prominent advocacy group for victims of sexual abuse planned to protest the cardinal’s appearance at the forum, one of two high-profile gatherings of religion leaders in the state Thursday.
Rodriguez and three other public figures, including former U.N. Ambassador John C. Danforth, will discuss pluralism, the increasing role of religion in society and faith-based perspectives on public issues. The forum is envisioned as an annual event.