Obama on abortion

South Bend, Ind. (AP) - The head of the religious order that founded the University of Notre Dame has asked President Barack Obama to reconsider his stance on abortion and stem cell research in the wake of his being invited to give the school's commencement speech in May.

The Rev. Hugh W. Cleary, the superior general of the Congregation of the Holy Cross in Rome, wrote a letter to Obama on March 22 asking him to rethink through prayerful wrestling with his conscience his stated positions on the vital life issues of our day.

Cleary said in his 13-page letter to Obama that he has been deluged with angry e-mails regarding Notre Dame's decision to invite the president to campus.