Etiquette queen Emily Post must be spinning in her grave.

Some Catholic bishops and alumni are demanding that the University of Notre Dame revoke its invitation to President Barack Obama to deliver the commencement address at the university's May 17 graduation. They're angry that university officials asked an abortion rights Democrat to address the Catholic university. Bishop John D'Arcy, who presides over the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese, has already said he will not attend the address, and other detractors are threatening to protest the speech.

Fortunately, Notre Dame officials are sticking to their guns and have said the university will move ahead as planned.

To revoke an invitation extended to the sitting president of the United States would certainly be rude. But worse, such a move would miss an incredible opportunity.

Personal politics aside, Obama is a groundbreaking president. He broke racial barriers to become our nation's first black president. And who better to address our generation than the man who revolutionized presidential campaigns by harnessing the power of the Internet, who uses a Blackberry and who streams public addresses on the White House Web site? Who, in his Election Night victory speech, specifically thanked students for rejecting "the myth of their generation's apathy" and supporting his campaign?

Also speaking at Notre Dame's commencement will be Harvard Law professor Mary Ann Glendon, who was George W. Bush's ambassador to the Vatican. Former religion editor for Newsweek and Notre Dame alumnus Kenneth L. Woodward wrote in Monday's Washington Post, "It's important that the president hear her message as well as deliver his own. It is equally important that this kind of engagement take place at a university devoted to both faith and reason. Where else but in a university setting should we expect this kind of principled presentation of issues?"

While we don't know what Obama will say to Notre Dame's graduating class, it is highly unlikely is that the president will "press a pro-choice agenda," as Woodward wrote. Clearly Obama is a skilled orator with a keen understanding of his audiences' moods and mindsets. It's likely he'll talk to the graduates about the problems our nation faces, what young people can do to address them and hope for the future.

Throughout the presidential campaign, Obama talked about making politics less divisive. Even if some in the Notre Dame community didn't vote for him, what better way to begin addressing the problems we face than hearing what the president has to say?

We hope conservative students, parents, alumni and bishops relent and attend the president's address. The chance to hear from a sitting president is an opportunity that rarely presents itself. To hear from such a groundbreaking president at such a time of incredible national change? That's once in a lifetime. Politics should not overshadow the occasion.