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By Dave Andrusko

It was all anyone could have asked for. There we were in New York, on a gorgeous fall day, preparing to pay tribute to a great pro-life champion, Prof. Mary Ann Glendon. She was to receive the NRL Educational Trust Fund's Proudly Pro-Life Award.

As readers of TN&V and NRL News know, Prof. Glendon refused to allow herself to be billed by the University of Notre Dame administration as a kind of pro-life counterbalance to pro-abortion President Barack Obama. Prof. Glendon, a former ambassador to the Vatican, had agreed to accept Notre Dame's highest honor, the Laetare Medal, at the university's May 17 commencement. That, however, was before the University not only invited President Obama to speak at the commencement, it compounded its error by confirming on him an honorary degree.

Prof. Mary Ann Glendon (center), the recipient of the 2009 Proudly Pro-Life Award, with NRLC President Dr. Wanda Franz and NRLC Vice President Tony Lauinger.

Once alerted, Prof. Glendon sent a letter to Notre Dame President Father John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., declining the award. She pointed out that President Obama is "a prominent and uncompromising opponent of the Church's position on issues involving fundamental principles of justice." The bishops' 2004 statement about not honoring such individuals, she wrote, "seems to me so reasonable that I am at a loss to understand why a Catholic university should disrespect it."

Ironically, on the train ride up to the dinner in New York City, I happened to read a story in the Wall Street Journal about Chrissie Maher. The 71-year-old Ms. Maher is the founder of the Plain English Campaign.

The stated goal of the group, now 30 years old, is to stem "the ever-growing tide of confusing and pompous language" that "takes away our democratic rights," according to Wall Street Journal reporter Sara Schaefer Muņoz.

Mumbo jumbo is the mortal enemy of this grandmother of eleven. At the moment caught in the cross-hairs of the Plain English Campaign is "the current scourge of financial jargon." (You can read the delightful story in its entirety at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125476135344665075.html?mod=WSJ_hps_RIGHTTopCarousel#)

Whether it was Prof. Glendon herself, or NRLC Vice President Tony Lauinger, who introduced Prof. Glendon, or NRLC President Dr. Wanda Franz who spoke to the audience about the invaluable work of the NRL Educational Trust Fund, clear, unambiguous language was the order of the night. No euphemisms, no misdirection, and (to borrow from Ms. Maher) no "tortuous and ambiguous sentences" or "eye-wateringly arcane" language. Just the simple message that pro-life education saves lives!

We will have a full account of the Proudly Pro-Life Award Dinner in the forthcoming National Right to Life News. Suffice it to say here that all who attended Tuesday night were blessed by Prof. Glendon's generous, kind, and caring remarks.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Please send your comments to daveandrusko@gmail.com.