The IHS monogram in the above photo is an abbreviation or shortening of Jesus' name in Greek to the first three letters. Thus ΙΗΣΟΥΣ, ιησυς (iēsus, "Jesus"), is shortened to ΙΗΣ (iota-eta-sigma), sometimes transliterated into Latin or English characters as IHS or ΙΗC. The auditorium in the photo is located at Georgetown University, the site of a speech by Barack Obama on Tuesday of this week.
The following piece about the current controversy is from Rightpundits.com
Georgetown Covers IHS for Obama
According to CNSnews as of Wednesday afternoon, the “IHS” monogram was still covered.
Georgetown officials stated that they were just honoring Obama’s request to cover all Georgetown University signs and symbols when he spoke. According to Georgetown staff, Obama wanted a backdrop that contained only “flags, pipe and drape.”
"Georgetown is a Jesuit university, so such a request would mean that religious symbols like the “IHS” monogram and the cross that accompanies it would have to be covered.
Catholics for centuries have used “IHS” as an abbreviation for Jesus’ name. The IHS monogram appears in numerous Catholic buildings throughout Europe and the Americas. It is believed to be a contraction derived from the Greek “Iesous Christos,” which means Jesus Christ.
Barack Obama claims to be a Christian man, so the covering of a symbol of Jesus has some religious conservatives seeing red, like Right Voices. Some see the covering of IHS as evidence that Obama is disrespectful of Christian faith.
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One might ask why such a request had to be honored by the Jesuits of Georgetown; I certainly would. John Paul II must turn in his grave when he sees the Catholic universities of Georgetown and Notre Dame (see my post of April 3) behaving as they have in the past few weeks. Why could not the Jesuits simply have told Mr. Obama that certain things are not negotiable, and if he wanted to speak at a Catholic University he would have to accept the presence of Catholic symbols in the room? Why did they not have the courage to do that? Could it possibly be that they (and he) did not want to inflame practitioners of a certain other religion that need not be named?
By the way, here is a photo of Laura Bush delivering a speech in December 2006 at the same Georgetown forum, announcing the partnership of the U.S - Afghan Women's Council with Georgetown University. Apparently Mrs. Bush made no such request to cover all Georgetown University signs and symbols. Enough said.
(Click on the photo to enlarge)
