Martin Sheen played President Josiah Bartlet in The West Wing
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Actor Martin Sheen is to be honoured by the University of Notre Dame in Indiana for his humanitarian work.
The West Wing star and activist, 67, will receive the Laetare Medal, awarded annually to a Catholic who has "enriched the heritage of humanity".
Sheen, who has campaigned for the rights of migrant workers and homeless people, will be honoured on 18 May.
Sheen played The West Wing's US President Josiah Bartlet - who was a graduate of Notre Dame.
Former winners of the Laetare Medal, first awarded in 1883, include President John F Kennedy.
The university's president, the Reverend John Jenkins, said Sheen had used his high profile to help others.
"He has used that celebrity to draw the attention of his fellow citizens to issues that cry out for redress, such as the plight of immigrant workers and homeless people, the waging of unjust war, the killing of the unborn and capital punishment," he added.
In recent years, Sheen has taken part in a number of different protests against US military policy.
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He has used that celebrity to draw the attention of his fellow citizens to issues that cry out for redress
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