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In the cover article of the August/September issue of The Catholic World Report, Dr. Thomas S. Hibbs, Dean of the Honors College of Baylor University, provides an exceptionally insightful discussion of The Vagina Monologues episode. He brings to this subject impressive credentials.   more »

In a recent column appearing in the Internet publication, The Catholic Thing, one of the most honored Notre Dame scholars, Dr. Ralph McInterny, discusses the University's Catholic identity and the role of The Sycamore Trust. The article, Alma Mater, requires no elaboration by us.   more »

In our letter of July 10, 2008, to Father Jenkins, we pointed out how this year's student production of The Vagina Monologues failed to meet his requirement that the students in the audience receive an explanation from panelists of relevant Catholic moral doctrine, and we urged that accordingly he should not approve such performances in the future....   more »

On April 17, 2008, the Pope, in his address to Catholic educators, described a Catholic university in terms of the fullness of its Catholic identity. The day before, the Notre Dame Faculty Senate urged that the University's "academic aspirations" take precedence over its Catholic identity.

This startling disjuncture evidences both the degree to which secularization has already taken hold at Notre Dame and also the grave risk that this process will continue until the University's claim to Catholic identity has been entirely undermined.   more »

In a Wall Street Journal feature opinion essay titled "The Weekend Interview: Rev. John I. Jenkins, Catholicism, Inc., deputy editor Naomi Schaefer Riley provides an illuminating description of her interview with Father Jenkins in anticipation of the Pope's address to college and university presidents.

It should be noted ...   more »

NOTRE DAME, IN - Bishop D'Arcy Denounces Father Jenkins's Decision

It is with profound regret that we report that Father Jenkins, having authorized multiple student performances of The Vagina Monologues, has also permitted those performances to take place during Easter Week. They are to be held on each of three ...   more »

NOTRE DAME, IN - Father Jenkins Disappoints Again

The Vagina Monologues will, after all, be performed on campus later this month. We recently reported that some 50 bishops had moved their conference off campus because the play might be produced. Father Jenkins has now decided it will be. He says ...   more »

In this bulletin we reproduce the letter we have sent to Father Jenkins respecting The Vagina Monologues, and we also provide additional information respecting both the current state of affairs and the recent episode involving the bishops that was the subject of our last bulletin.

Since that bulletin, we ...   more »

Last year's respite from on-campus performances of The Vagina Monologues has evidently ended. The play has departmental sponsorship and is slated for performance on March 24-26.

In an even more startling development, Father Jenkins has refused the request of the U.S. Bishops' Committee on Doctrine that he not approve this performance because of the Committee's scheduled February 11-12 meeting on campus, and in consequence the bishops have moved their meeting off campus to Mishawaka and will not stay at the
Morris Inn.   more »

We deeply regret bringing you news of a new hiring policy that, unless changed, will soon fatally compromise Notre Dame's Catholic identity. Here are the facts:

As we have stressed, all studies confirm that a university's religious identity depends upon its faculty. That is where secularization begins and where it ...   more »

We bring you a trilogy of articles that should be required reading for all members of the Notre Dame family. In these articles, two of the University's leading scholars exchange contrasting views respecting the question whether Notre Dame's Catholic identity is threatened because of the precipitous decline in the proportion ...   more »

NOTRE DAME, IN - Faculty Group Website Recommends Pro-Abortion Organizations, Urges More Lesbian and Homosexual Faculty, and Provides Other Noteworthy Insights

An organization of women faculty at Notre Dame called ND Watch has a website that, while providing useful information for new women faculty members, also contains material hostile to ...   more »

The Secularization of the Notre Dame Faculty – A “Must Read” Article by A Prominent Notre Dame Professor

In the September 10, 2007, issue of “America,” Father Wilson D. Miscamble, C.S.C., describes in compelling detail the extent to which the Notre Dame faculty has been secularized.

“America” deserves praise for ...   more »

While manifestations of Catholic life at Notre Dame are abundant, is there a potentially fatal fault line that has opened out of public view?

Let's begin this discussion with the threshold question whether there is a serious threat to the Catholic identity of Notre Dame. I say there is. The School's Mission Statement tells us so.

That provision declares that the school's Catholic identity "depends upon" the "continuing presence" of a "predominant number of Catholic intellectuals"...   more »

What's more important, Catholic identity or pride of position in the U.S. News & World Report hierarchy?

Some, perhaps many, will argue that it's more important to pursue scholars with the most impressive academic credentials than it is to maintain a Catholic majority on the faculty. They regard Father Jenkins's ...   more »

If the risk to Notre Dame's Catholic identity is so evident, why don't more seem concerned?

Here's an interesting question for discussion. We've heard from some who think the number one goal for Notre Dame should be still further improvement in its academic reputation in secular academe. If that means ...   more »

Should those in governance ensure that the faculty's latitude in hiring will not trump the Mission Statement?

How can the Mission Statement's requirement be met?

Although the President holds ultimate authority, as a practical matter hiring has been left almost entirely to departmental faculties. Father Jenkins has been stressing the ...   more »