Alan Keyes receives trespass warning at Notre Dame gates: transcript

Key points

• Keyes says all he plans to do is witness to the truth, as Christians are called to do, and compares this to St. Paul.
• He says he was moved to tears by shame over holding back from supporting Randall Terry's methods.
• He acknowledges Father Jenkins is legally within his rights because Notre Dame is private property, but says God's law also matters.
• He objects that Notre Dame invited Barack Obama to be honored with a degree while treating Randall Terry like a criminal.
• A university representative says the administration has orders to issue a trespass notice and that he could be arrested if he enters.
• Keyes calls the notice outrageous and says Notre Dame must return to God's will or Catholics may demand its name be changed.

Chapters

1. 0:02Keyes says he has come to witness
2. 1:08Keyes describes his conviction and shame
3. 2:26Private property versus the law of God
4. 3:58Objection to honoring Obama and standing with Terry
5. 5:22Trespass notice is issued
6. 5:53Keyes calls the notice outrageous and warns Notre Dame

Full transcript

0:02The administration asked us if there's anything that you would require from us. I know the website is announced tomorrow. Plan on protests. Well, actually, as I put it on the site, and as I believe it, all I plan to do is try, in whatever way I can, to witness to the truth.

0:33Because that's what Christians are called to do. We're called to witness. As I was explaining to the young ladies, when St. Paul went into the city, right, and very often, as you know, St. Paul would go into the city, and by the time it was done, he would have been stoned, he would have been driven out, he would have been thrown in jail or prison and so forth and so on. This happens. But what did he do? All St. Claude did was witness. All he did was basically pray and speak the truth. That's all he did. Now, in the case of this situation, I think that all that witness required is just that, your witness.

1:08And this is what I didn't understand when I read the account. It wasn't even what led me to come here, y'all. It was, you know, it was like God convicted me. I actually was reduced to tears by my own sense of shame. That I had professed all my life to be pro-life, had loved Randall Terry, had supported Randall Terry, had done things, but I always said in my heart of heart there was this reservation. That's his way of doing it. And I defend him. He's right. That's exactly what I know Christians did down through the ages. But it's just not my fault.

1:39And it was like God was just convicting me in that moment to see with my real heart, the heart that breaks you down, that I was lying. And that in point of fact it wasn't Randall Terry who was in that position. It was Jesus Christ and I was refusing to see him. I was refusing to see the cross. I was refusing to see the humiliation. I was refusing to see the imprisonment and the torture. And he opened my eyes. So if that's what's reserved for whoever, because they stand for that truth, then that's alright, because everything that has ever been accomplished by Christian teaching was accomplished by simple witness with a willingness to die, if that's the consequence, okay?

2:26So if people come against us and wish to throw us in jail or do whatever, okay. I would have to confess part of the shockiness of it all was that, even though I can make a really good argument. That is not even justified when the public authorities do it if we're standing here on the streets. But, of course, in the case of Notre Dame, two things are true. As I texted someone the other day, Father Jenkins is, in terms of the law, absolutely within his right. Notre Dame is private property.

2:57And if he wants to say, so-and-so can't come on my private property, that is certainly a prerogative that he has as chief administrator. But you know, there's human law, and then there's the law of God. And it seems to me that a Catholic university standing there with Our Lady's name on it, the Mother of God, and that Catholic university professing. If you asked Father Jenkins, he'd tell you for life. I'm sure he would. He would tell you that killing babies is wrong.

3:28He would tell you that the whole thing is a deep violation. He might even be able to quote for me from, you know, the sanctity of life and the things that have been written over and over again to make it clear that this is the teaching to stand at the Catholic Church. You have no money. So that's really very clear. So here's my problem. I just want to finish this so you all want to understand because what I am motivated by is this. And I will be doing my best.

3:58Because this is what convicted me, right? It was what made me feel like, for all I pretended to do stuff for the pro-life movement, I have never been willing to do what God requires. And you know why? Because over here, there is a man who represents the very heart of abortion evil, who is the epitome and focus of that evil right now in the whole world. There is no one who is more prominent, more forceful, more devastatingly promoting abortion and abortion evil than Barack Obama.

4:29This man invited to the campus of Notre Dame to be honored with a degree, to be smiled at, his hands shaken, to be treated like he's worth something. And this man, who has laid his life on the line for the babies, who has gone to jail, who has lost his homes, who has been inflicted, he stands alone. to be treated like a criminal well no i'll stand with him that's going to be the case i'll stand with him until hell freezes okay and that's why i've come because it seems to me that there's something deeply wickedly wrong there is a chasm opening now that i do not understand my mind can't get around it i have been a catholic all my life i have gone through the battles i have fought for the causes. I understand that sometimes we stand alone.

5:22But why on earth would it be at a Catholic university? Well, we are not here to pass judgment on you or Mr. Randall Terrier or any of the individuals, but what I'm saying is the university administration has... We have our orders and we're... ...to be issued a trespass notice, which means that the university's private property, If you do come on to the University of Poverty, you could be subject to arrest for trespass.

5:53That's outrageous. Oh, I haven't even done anything. I'm just here, and you are issuing me a notice. It's outrageous. Meaning no offense? One of the things that the world will learn from all of you and that Fr. Jenkins is going to learn, because I have been moved in my spirit to understand that I'm not sure that he'll even be a father much less president of this university. But leave that aside. The simple truth is, this land is a whole university institution.

6:29Last time I looked, the word private meant that it belonged to some human party. And it's one of the reasons why one of two things will ultimately come out of all of this. Either Notre Dame will return to respect for God's will, or I think Catholics the world over will demand that the name of the Mother of God be removed from this university and that Catholics sanction people. Do you realize what's going on here? What's going on here?

7:00What's going on here? Do you remember when Christ was born, what happened? What happened before Christ was born? I just want to respectfully ask. No, but wait a minute. You know why I'm talking to you? Because you used a phrase to me that puts the chill in. What does that mean? Well, we're just, what was it? We're just following your orders. You're doing your job. Well, you know.

Source and licence

Recording: File:Part I - Dr. Alan Keyes Trespass Warning - Notre Dame.webm by Randall Terry (2009-05-08), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY 3.0.

The transcript is machine speech-to-text by the TidyTools Audio & video transcriber; the summary, key points and chapters were written by Claude from that transcript. Both may contain errors: check the recording before quoting it.