Why Notre Dame Can’t Stop Stumbling on Abortion | The American Spectator

The University of Notre Dame makes headlines at least once a year for reasons that fly in the face of the school’s Catholic identity, but the administration never seems to learn its lesson. Time and time again, they step on the same proverbial rake. This time, however, the incident that sparked national commentary was favorably resolved — for now, at least. 

Pro-Abortion Professor Sparks Outcry 

Susan Ostermann, associate professor in the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, was appointed as the incoming director of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies on Jan. 8. 

By Feb. 6, two professors resigned their affiliations with the Liu Institute. Diane Desierto, professor of law and global affairs, cited Pope Leo XIV’s articulation of Catholic teaching on abortion as her reason for giving up her faculty fellowship. Robert Gimello, research professor emeritus of theology, also resigned his position as a fellow in “dismay, and with regret.” (RELATED: Notre Dame: Catholic No More?)

The following week, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, head of the Fort Wayne-South Bend diocese, called upon the university to “rectify” the troubling appointment. The decision was widely decried by a number of other bishops, as well. (RELATED: Catholics Blast Notre Dame’s Promotion of Abortion Activist)

In the meantime, students organized an event in protest. The “March on the Dome” was scheduled for the evening of Friday, Feb. 27. The Sycamore Trust, an independent group of alumni dedicated to supporting Notre Dame’s Catholic identity reported that, “[j]ust days before the March on the Dome, Bishop Kevin Rhoades joined students on campus for Vigil Mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and afterward led a Rosary at the Grotto praying for Notre Dame’s fidelity to its Catholic mission.”

On Feb. 26, just a day before the planned protest, Ostermann announced her withdrawal from the position. Students quickly transformed the demonstration from a protest to a prayer service in gratitude for the change. 

Why Notre Dame Doesn’t Learn 

The resolution to this particular chain of events follows the same pattern as other, higher-profile campus controversies from recent years: raise the profile of the incident through protest and media, and put the university in a situation where the path of least resistance aligns with the protesters’ desired outcome. Claudine Gay resigned her position as president of Harvard two years ago following a similar — albeit much, much bigger — media firestorm. 

Previous occasions of public backlash against Notre Dame failed to change the administration’s decisions. Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and Catholics across the nation protested when former university president Fr. John Jenkins, CSC, invited President Barack Obama to deliver the commencement address in 2009. Then, in 2016, a similar outcry arose when Notre Dame honored Joe Biden with the Laetare Medal, which is the “most prestigious award given to American Catholics.” 

In this instance, however, the pushback worked — partly because Ostermann’s appointment was too small to fight over. Standing by a decision to invite the president or former vice president is one thing; promoting the director of an Asian studies institute is another. As one alumna told me, “They reached the right outcome with the least amount of moral courage.” 

Bill Dempsey, president of the Sycamore Trust, said as much to The Observer: 

The appointment is far more important than the resignation, welcome as that is. With no indication of regret from Father Dowd, the appointment remains a scandal. It evidences the low value the administration places on the Church’s teaching on abortion. It is a telling symptom of the school’s weakening Catholic identity. And it is distressing that a protest of nuclear dimensions was required to effect any change.

But Notre Dame is bound to keep repeating the same mistake, to keep stumbling into the same quandary about the dignity of human life so long as they continue to hire lukewarm faculty and staff who view abortion as the subject of scholarly debate rather than (literally) life and death.  

If Notre Dame keeps making headlines for contradicting Catholic teaching, it’s because the university has a personnel problem. And, as the university will hopefully start to realize, that personnel problem has significantly damaged their public reputation — even, perhaps especially, among those who love Notre Dame.

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