A vocal and influential constituency of American Catholics disapproves of the University of Notre Dame’s decision to invite President Obama to speak at the Catholic university’s commencement and receive an honorary degree in two weeks, but almost twice as many Catholics approve of the invitation, according to a new poll. Many people are angry at what they see as one of the nation’s most prominent Catholic institutions honoring Obama, who supports abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research. But a poll just released by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life shows 50 percent of Catholics saying they approve of the Notre Dame award to Obama, with 22 percent saying they disapprove. Twenty-two percent said they didn’t know. That’s pretty similar to the views of Americans overall on the issue — 48 percent of the general public said they approved, 25 percent disapproved and 27 percent said they didn’t know. The pollsters note, however, that there is a gap in the Notre Dame controversy between more and less observant Catholics. Among white, non-Hispanic Catholics who attend church weekly or more often, approval of the decision plummets to 37 percent. Forty-five percent said the decision was wrong. Among […]