Joe Biden tells Notre Dame graduates to press for respect and 'common ground'

SOUTH BEND — A message of compromise, mutual respect and bipartisanship was greeted with applause Sunday in Notre Dame Stadium.

After accepting Notre Dame's Laetare Medal at the commencement ceremony, Vice President Joe Biden urges the graduates to work hard to serve the common good.

"Engage in the tireless pursuit of finding common ground. Because not only will you be happier, you'll be incredibly more successful. That's where you'll find your reward," Biden said.

His speech drew applause and a partial standing ovation from the audience.

Biden, a Democrat, and John Boehner, a Republican and former Speaker of the House, were jointly presented with the Laetare Medal. The medal is the oldest honor given to American Catholics.

Notre Dame had faced some criticism for honoring Biden. The vice president has stated that he personally believes the position of the Catholic Church that abortion is always wrong, but he refuses to impose his personal view on people of other religious faiths and in public life. And he is accepting of gay marriage.

Biden called the medal "the most meaningful award I've ever received in my life."

"I've read some accounts about how John and I are old school. We treat each other with respect," Biden said.

"You are the best educated, most tolerant generation in the history of the United States," Biden said during a short speech in which he touched on his Catholic upbringing, personal tragedies and the need for mutual respect in public life.

He recalled representing the United States at the inauguration of Pope Francis. At that event, the pope put out his hand and said, "Mr. Vice President, you're always welcome here."

"Think about it. That's the message he's sent to the world. That's the reason he's the most respected man in the world as I speak here today," Biden said.

"Resist the temptation, when you disagree, to ascribe a negative motive. You don't know what that person's motive is and it makes it virtually impossible to reach common ground," he told the graduates.

Biden was elected to the Senate in 1972 at age 29. Less than two months later, his wife and three children were in a car crash. His wife and daughter died, while his young sons recovered from their injuries.

Four decades later, family tragedy struck again when his son Beau Biden died of brain cancer at age 46. "My soul, my son, my Beau," Biden said Sunday.

He urged the graduates to take the time to be there for family and others. "Progress only comes when you deal with your opponent with respect, listening as well as talking," he said.

Boehner, too, emphasized the importance of compromise in public life. "Governing isn't about promising the impossible. Governing in its essence is the art of the possible. Governing requires us to look for common ground, where it can be found, without compromising our principles," he said.

Although members of different political parties, he and Biden were able to find common ground, the former speaker said. "While I'm a Republican and Joe's a Democrat, the fact is we're both Americans."

Biden left the the ceremony shortly after the medal presentation. He was flying to Sunday's commencement at the University of Pennsylvania, where his granddaughter was receiving her degree.

Earlier Sunday morning, a couple dozen protesters gathered near Notre Dame's main gate to publicly object to Biden receiving the Laetare Medal. They displayed signs depicting aborted fetuses or bearing statements such as "Shame on Notre Dame" or "Catholic Faith Attacked From Within."

Eric Scheidler, executive director of the Pro-Life Action League in Chicago, arrived with a small contingent. He said he believes Biden's support for abortion access is contrary to Catholic social teachings, and that Biden shouldn't receive a medal that honors Catholic Americans. "The idea that our unborn brothers and sisters would be without a voice today is unconscionable," Scheidler said. "That's why we are here."

Shawn Sullivan, director and founder of The Apostolate of Divine Mercy and The Life Center in South Bend, was also at the protest. They were there to witness, he said, and highlight the issue for passers-by.

The Rev. John I. Jenkins, Notre Dame's president, defended the university's decision to honor both men.

"Politics in a democracy is a full-contact sport involving bruising debate, searing invective and unrelenting criticism," Jenkins said at Sunday's ceremony.

"Each of you, we must acknowledge, has cast votes and taken positions about which many among us have reservations – in some cases, grave moral reservations," the priest said, addressing the two honorees directly.

"We award you today the Laetare Medal not to endorse particular positions you've taken or votes you've cast, but because each of you have given your lives to serve the common good of political leadership by your own best light," he said.

Among those critical of Notre Dame's decision to honor Biden was the Rev. Kevin Rhoades, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. Rhoades said in March it is wrong for the university to honor with the Laetare Medal any public official who is pro-choice on abortion or favors gay marriage.

Rhoades did not attend Notre Dame's commencement. His office said the bishop was in Maryland over the weekend at the college graduation of his niece.

Notre Dame conferred degrees on 3,065 graduates. It was one of coldest commencements in recent memory, with temperatures in the 30s early Sunday as guests filed into Notre Dame Stadium, passing through metal detectors because of increased security.

Retired U.S. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave the commencement address. He and six others were awarded honorary degrees.

Tribune staff reporter Amanda Gray contributed to this report.