South Bend, Ind. ? The University of Notre Dame has decided against awarding its top honor at commencement this year after its intended recipient turned it down over the school’s decision to have President Barack Obama speak to graduates.

The Roman Catholic school said Thursday that a federal judge who has already received the Laetare Medal will speak at the ceremony in place of a recipient speech.

The Rev. John Jenkins, the school’s president, said in a statement that Judge John T. Noonan Jr. “could bring a compelling voice, a passion for dialogue, great intellectual stature, and a deep commitment to Catholic values to the speaking role of the Laetare Medalist especially in these unusual circumstances.”

Jenkins has been criticized by dozens of bishops for inviting Obama because of the president’s support of abortion rights and embryonic stem-cell research. His statement Thursday did not mention Obama’s stance.

The school originally planned to award the Laetare Medal to Mary Ann Glendon, a Harvard University law professor and anti-abortion scholar who turned down the award, saying the school shouldn’t be honoring Obama.

It will be the first time since Notre Dame began awarding the Laetare Medal in 1883 that there is no recipient. The award has been given each year to a Catholic “whose genius has ennobled the arts and sciences, illustrated the ideals of the church and enriched the heritage of humanity.”

Previous winners have included President John F. Kennedy, anti-death penalty activist Sister Helen Prejean, actor-activist Martin Sheen and jazz musician Dave Brubeck.