By Catholic News Service
Washington -- A prosecutor dropped charges May 5 against 94 people arrested for trespassing on the University of Notre Dame's campus while protesting President Barack Obama's 2009 commencement address.
The university decided not to continue pressing charges and Prosecutor Michael Dvorak of the St. Joseph County Prosecutor's Office said he would not stand in the way of that request and agreed to drop all charges.
Notre Dame's president, Holy Cross Father John I. Jenkins, said in a statement that he was "sincerely pleased" that the charges were dismissed.
"From the start, everyone involved in this difficult matter has been in complete accord on the sanctity of human life, and we all remain committed to continuing our work to support life from conception to natural death," he said.
The 2009 protesters had objected to the school's decision to allow Obama to give the commencement address and receive an honorary degree, saying his support for keeping abortion legal made him an inappropriate choice at a Catholic university.
They were arrested on criminal trespassing charges and transported to the St. Joseph County Jail after they ignored orders to stay off campus.
Father Jenkins said in a statement last year that the group had been "given repeated warnings by law enforcement officials, and then, when they persisted, they were arrested and charged with criminal trespass."
Tom Brejcha, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Society, a public-interest law firm defending the protesters, said the dropped charges were "a big step forward and a victory for the pro-life cause."
In a May 5 statement, he said the law firm was appreciative of the steps taken by Notre Dame to create new pro-life initiatives on campus.
The statement noted that although the parties "remain in profound disagreement over the 2009 commencement," they decided after prayerful consideration to put their differences behind them and focus on their fundamental belief in the sanctity of human life.
Both parties pledged to recognize each other's pro-life efforts and "work together to find ways to increase those efforts and maximize their impact on the nation's contentious, ongoing debate over abortion policy."
Charges dropped against protesters at 2009 Notre Dame commencement
