Bishops Stand Tall Against Notre Dame Appointment
The faithful have been clamoring "Where are the bishops" Here they are!
When Notre Dame announced that Susan Ostermann — a pro-abortion activist who has publicly linked the pro-life movement to white supremacy — would be installed as director of its Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, Catholics in and out of the social media world were clamoring for the Bishops to speak up, and take a stand. It was a familiar chorus: Where are the bishops?
Truth be told, sometimes (not ‘most times”) it’s deserved. But not this time. The Bishops stood tall on this one.
Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend — the diocese that actually includes Notre Dame — went first, on February 11, calling the appointment a scandal and demanding it be rescinded. He also hosted a prayer rally at the Grotty of Our Lady of Lourdes—at Notre Dame—to pray for Catholic identity at Notre Dame
Then others followed. Fast.
Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, the president of the USCCB, voiced his full support for Rhoades within days.
Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester joined the party, saying in a post on 𝕏,
“The woman proposed for a key leadership position at Our Lady’s University is not simply “pro-choice” on the question of abortion; she is a sharp critic of the pro-life position and those who advocate it. She has gone so far as to characterize the anti-abortion stance as rooted in white supremacy and racism”
But Wait, There’s More!
Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver called the appointment a tarnishment of “Our Lady’s University.” Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield said academic freedom doesn’t obligate a Catholic university to hand leadership to someone whose public positions contradict essential moral teaching. Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington called the appointment “simply incompatible with the mission of the Catholic Church.”
In total, more than a dozen bishops including some of the highest-profile names in the American Church took a public stand, with at least one writing to Notre Dame directly.
So far Notre Dame hasn’t budged, and has said that the appointment will stand. Which, to me, signals that their priority here is not Catholic identity or Catholic culture, but the culture of the spirit of the secular world. Check out this article where I talk about this identity crisis at Notre Dame
This is what I want Catholics to take from this: before demanding to know where the bishops are, give them a moment to respond. The knee-jerk reaction and the assumption that our shepherds are useless is usually not accurate or fair. Sometimes the Bishops are silent when we feel they need to be shouting from the rooftops—I get it. But why are the faithful shouting “Where are the Bishops” from the rooftops, and then silent when the Bishops come out swinging?
Give credit where it’s due.
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