Good letter, Bill. Following is what I sent to Father Jenkins a couple weeks ago:

Dear Father Jenkins,



I read that the Monologues are or may be making a comeback at Notre Dame this year. I have always opposed that idea, but I never expressed my opposition nearly as well as Notre Dame’s new President did in January 2006 (below). I know you modified this position after consultation, but you were right before the modification, Father. My prayer ever since has been that you were working your way back toward the inspired model you outlined in your initial speeches to the faculty and students. It’s still my prayer today.



Notre Dame must be a Catholic beacon to the world. Our decisions must be guided by what we know Our Lady and her Son would want from us.



You have a tough job, and we continue to keep you in our prayers.



Jack Hart ’79, father of two alumni and one current student





“The Vagina Monologues and Queer Film Festival have raised difficulties because they either are or appear to be at odds with certain fundamental values of a Catholic university. The fact that they have been sponsored annually by units of the university, and have been widely publicized, prominently associates the university’s name with them. Such occurrences suggest the university endorses or at least finds compatible with its values certain views which are not in fact compatible. The wide publicity and prominence given such events tends to instrumentalize our collective identity and our higher meaning.



“The position I am inviting you to consider, then, is that an event which has the implicit or explicit sponsorship of the university as a whole, one of its units, or a university recognized organization, and which either is or appears to be in name or content clearly and egregiously contrary to or inconsistent with the fundamental values of a Catholic university, should not be allowed at Notre Dame. As I said, the sponsors of the Vagina Monologues have many laudable goals: that women should be aided to affirm their own bodies, the gift of their sexuality, and their identity as women; that we should form communities and a culture that can support this; and, most pressingly, that we work to eliminate violence against women. I pledge myself to work to advance such goals at Notre Dame. I fail to see, however, how the annual performance of the Vagina Monologues is the appropriate means to these ends.”

I'm glad you called attention to father Jenkins's excellent initial statement, Jack. The case against the Vagina Monologues could hardly be put more succinctly and yet powerfully. It brings back to mind the great disappointment that so many of us felt when he reversed his position in the face of strong faculty opposition.

Now I'd like to reproduce the reason he gave:

"Thanks to the efforts of some faculty members, this year's performance of The Vagina Monologues was brought into dialogue with Catholic tradition through panels that followed each performance. Panelists presented the Catholic teaching on human sexuality, This is a good model for the future. Accordingly, I see no reason to prohibit performances of The Vagina Monologues on campus, and do not intend to do so."

This is simply not the case. Only one panelist, a priest, said a word about the collision between the play and Catholic teaching, and he was not even present at all of the performances. His brief observations were met for the most part with silence, except for one panelist who said she will wondered how the church got to those positions. Almost all of the panel discussions consisted of heaping praise on the play and discussing issues entirely unrelated to "Catholic tradition " and "Catholic teaching on human sexuality." The tone was set by one of the professors' comparison of the play with St. Augustine's Confessions.

lIn short, Father Jenkins's expressed reason for his reversal of field was a rationalization, not a sustainable rationale. One must look for some other explanation, and it seems plain enough that that explanation lies in the force of faculty opposition and the apprehension that a decision to ban the play would be portrayed in academe as a benighted "Catholic" suppression of academic freedom and free speech. Thus, we are brought once agan to the secularization of the faculty as the root cause. (There is a full description of the discussions on our website for anyone who cares to explore the matter in some detail.)

You know you are in trouble when Catholic Teaching is actually being censored at a Catholic University. To the panelist who asked the question how the Church got to " those "
positions on human sexuality- Answer: Through God's Divine Truth on Sexual Love as revealed to us by our Savior, Jesus Christ, the Word Made Flesh. ( Just so you know, He is not a Liar, He IS the TRUTH. ) Regarding Augustine's Confessions, they were exactly that, Confessions. Confession as when absolution by God's Divine Mercy because of the Sacrifice on the Cross of His Son, Jesus Christ, is given to those who, with true sorrow, confess their sins , and receive God's Grace through His Love and Mercy. I'd like to know how we got to the point where we no longer recognize God's Truth. We need to WAKE UP and BE NOT AFRAID. Obviously, some people are challenging Father John for defending the Truth of our Faith.

Nancy Danielson

P.S. Regarding the whole academic freedom argument and Galileo- Science "appears" to be changing as we discover the various conditions that exist in GOD'S Universe. The Earth, simply because it has the GOD CREATED conditions to sustain Life, has the obvious PREFERRED position in the Universe, which is exactly what GOD intended. It is time to put Galileo to rest.

Project Sycamore Officers and Directors,

Thank you for your efforts and dedication. I support your mission and believe strongly in Notre Dame's Catholic tradition. I pray supporter of Notre Dame's Catholic character are not merely a minority voice that is over shadowed by other constituents. Thanks again for you strong voice. Please continue to pray for the entire ND community, that through out Lord we can be salt and light to this world.

Wyatt
NDMBA '03

Great letter, keep up the good work.
I'll continue to pray the play gets canceled.
Also happy to see more people signing the petition everyday.