Notre Dame

The Catholic tradition at Notre Dame has been eroding since the 1960’s. At one time it was truly Catholic and had a distinct family atmosphere, but now it is not the same. What happened?
First of all, there are few Holy Cross priests teaching there any more. A significant number of Holy Cross priests with PhD’s have not been hired by Notre Dame or have not been granted tenure or have chosen to go elsewhere – usually the University of Portland which is also run by the Holy Cross Fathers. The absence of the influence of the Holy Cross Fathers has had an impact on the very core of Notre Dame’s Catholic and Family tradition. Whether by design, or by circumstances or by fewer numbers or by a combination of all of the above the priestly presence at Notre Dame is no longer what it once was.
Secondly, Notre Dame has changed philosophically. No longer content with being a/the leading Catholic University in the Country, Father Hesburgh chose to have Notre Dame break free from what he considered to be the bonds of ecclesiastical authority. Hence the oft quoted statement from the Land O’ Lakes Conference which was hosted by Father Hesburgh in 1967 at Notre Dame’s property in Land O’ Lakes, Wisconsin: “the Catholic University must have true autonomy and academic freedom in the face of authority of whatever kind, lay or clerical, external to the academic community itself.”
Subsequently Notre Dame consciously took a step away from its Catholic roots and has been doing so ever since. The vision I am sure was that Notre Dame would, hopefully, take its place among the elite Universities – not just the Catholic Universities. Not necessarily an ignoble image but as time wore on it would appear that this vision would be nurtured at the expense of Notre Dame’s Catholicity.
One need not go any further than Notre Dame’s treatment of the pro-life movement to confirm Notre Dame’s transition away from its Catholic heritage. As chronicled by previous entries on this blog Notre Dame has at best been ambivalent towards the pro-life position and at worst a willing avenue for the pro-life enemies to state and foster their positions – unopposed.
Thirdly, Notre Dame is now permeated with professors and staff who have no idea – and possibly don’t care – what the true Notre Dame spirit and tradition is. These people come from other universities and have contributed to the concept that Notre Dame is and should be perceived as any other university. Given the fact that the faculty is just barely 50% Catholic, we can understand why the Catholic values are eroding.
Finally, Notre Dame is now more politically correct than it is Catholic. The majority of students who care are more concerned with politically correct issues- such as homosexuality or the vagina monologues- than they are with Catholic issues. If their politically correct issues coincide with Catholic thought – all the better, and if their politically correct issues conflict with Catholic values, then the Catholic values must be cast aside for being oppressive, out of touch and for countless other reasons. Better to be politically correct than to be Catholic. It’s modern, it’s easier; and it brings ready acceptance. Thus because being pro-life is not politically correct, it is easy to cast it aside as being irrelevant to “my graduation.” The politically correct police will leave you alone because they don’t really care.
I have no doubt that Father Jenkins and President Obama will each receive a standing ovation at the commencement on May 17th. This will be from students and faculty from a different Notre Dame – not the one that once was and the one some of us once knew.