I can well understand the reasons for pessimism, but after more than two years of careful examination of the situation at Notre Dame I think it is surely too early to write Notre Dame off. It is quite true, for all the reasons we have given, that the forces of secularization have taken a great deal of territory and that their final victory seems assured in the end unless there is a major change in direction; but there remains so much at Notre Dame that is vibrantly Catholic, supported by such a robust Catholic tradition, that in my view there is good reason to hope. These sources of Catholic strength include a substantial core of outstanding Catholic scholars, even though no longer a majority; the continued presence of the C.S.C.'s, even though one wonders why they have not braked the drift of the last decades; an Administration that sincerely wants Notre Dame to be a truly Catholic institution, even though it has not, in my view, acted with sufficient decisiveness and single-mindedness to achieve that goal; and a student body still 85% Catholic. There is this to be said also: Notre Dame is clearly, and by a considerable margin, the most Catholic, as well as the best, of the major Catholic universities in this country. More, it is the only university with the resources to be the center of intellectual reflection that the Church badly needs. If it finally and decisively falls, the Church will have suffered a major blow. The stakes are high; the game is not lost; and while no one knows whether an informed, fair-minded, outspoken alumni can have an impact, I submit that it is well worth the effort.