It’s tacky enough for Catholic colleges to have commencement speakers who don’t represent Catholic values; it’s beyond tacky to honor bishops who enabled priest sex abusers. The arch-conservative Cardinal Newman Society scrutinizes commencement speakers at the nation’s 225 Catholic schools, and notes only seven problems this year, down from 24 in 2006 and 13 in 2007. It rightly complains about speakers who support abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research. But this year’s speaker at Notre Dame is retired Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, who knowingly harbored an abusive priest for years. As the Cardinal Newman Society tracks Catholic college speakers, it might take a closer look at the bishops on its list as well.

(Phyllis Zagano is senior research associate-in-residence at Hofstra University and author of several books in Catholic Studies.)