As President of The Catholic University of America, it is my distinct honor and privilege to preside at this convocation in honor of His Excellency, the Honorable Valdas Adamkus, President of the Republic of Lithuania. The natural limitation of reason and the inconstancy of the heart often obscure and distort a person's search.
Truth can also drown in a welter of other concerns.
People can even run from the truth as soon as they glimpse it because they are afraid of it's demands. The Honorable Valdas Adamkus was not and is not afraid of the demands of truth. His heart has been and remains constant and his attention fixed on the truth. You have taken our noble mission, your Excellency, and made it your own. For that, The Catholic University of America thanks you and, through the degree conferred upon you, honors you this afternoon as one of our very own.