C'mon Guys, Just Because I'm a Priest Dosen't Mean I Believe Any of This

Ryan W. McMaken writes on the LRC Blog, concerning the President's recent honorary degree,

Notre Dame President Fr. Jenkins's motivation in the whole affair is obviously just a crass desire to gain influence with a powerful man.

Any time an honorary degree or award of any kind is given to a powerful person, it's always safe to assume that the entire event is just a transaction to buy influence.

Works for me but I wonder if liberal figures like Fr. Jenkins also do it out of embarrassment over Church teachings: awarding degrees to prominent lefties so to make a loud public display of their independence from Holy Church and (they hope) bolster their creds with the left-owned academy. In other words, apologizing for being Catholic.

(Thanks to the Conservative Blog for Peace.)