He concludes that “Obama strengthened moderate and liberal forces inside the [Catholic] church.” Many other commentators have pointed out that most Catholics approved of Notre Dame’s invitation and, indeed, voted for Obama. This seems to me an awfully short-sighted view of the fallout. Notre Dame’s invitation was valuable to Obama because of its status among American Catholics. Does anyone think that status is now higher than it was before the invitation? In helping Obama, Notre Dame diminished itself. And the same polls that showed that most Catholics approved of the invitation showed that a plurality of weekly churchgoers do not. Which group do we expect to have more influence over the future of Catholicism in America: self-described Catholics who attend Mass weekly or those who don’t? I’m not saying that the traditionalists have the upper hand here, only that a quick look at the polls may not be a reliable guide to the long-run consequences of this episode.