I think the bishops who believe abortion is the ultimate litmus test look at the polls and realize Catholics are not listening to them… They’re playing a very dangerous game because they do not have the moral authority they had before the sex abuse crisis, and they’re trying to find a toehold and get heard.
— Reverend Mark Massa, co-director of the Curran Center for American Catholic Studies at Fordham University, commenting on the fifty five Catholic bishops who have publicly denounced Notre Dame University for inviting President Barack Obama to speak at its 2009 Commencement.