Catholic bishops are calling on the University of Notre Dame to rescind its appointment of a pro-abortion professor to lead one of its academic institutions, even as the school’s Catholic mission has already been tainted by diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
Earlier this year, Notre Dame announced it would be appointing Susan Ostermann, associate professor of global affairs, to lead the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies. Her tenure is set to begin in July. Ostermann is outspoken in her advocacy for the systematic killing of unborn babies and publicly criticizes the Catholic Church’s pro-life teachings.
She has reportedly advanced the idea that being pro-life has “its roots in white supremacy and racism,” as well as being “embedded” with misogyny. Ostermann has also said pro-life pregnancy centers harm women and are “anti-abortion propaganda sites,” while erroneously claiming that Catholic doctrine actually supports abortion because, to her, abortion advances freedom for women.
“These are all outrageous claims that should disqualify her from an administrative and leadership role at a Catholic university. I hope that Professor Ostermann will explicitly retract these claims, and I pray that she will have a change of mind and heart that will lead her to affirm the innate dignity of unborn babies as well as that of their mothers,” Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, who serves the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, said in a scathing statement Wednesday arguing against Ostermann’s appointment.
“Also disqualifying is Professor Ostermann’s work as a consultant for the Population Council. For those who have never heard of it, this is an organization dedicated to the promotion of abortion around the world,” Rhoades wrote. “It has been linked to China’s population control policies that have resulted in hundreds of millions of abortions of baby girls. It was also instrumental in securing approval of the abortion pill by the FDA, which is responsible for the majority of abortions in the United States.”
Rhodes notably led an effort to deny former President Joe Biden (who claims to be Catholic) the Sacrament of the Eucharist because of his pro-abortion views.
The Liu Institute endorses “integral human development,” the Catholic social teaching principle that Ostermann has completely warped in order to advance her abortion agenda.
“Professor Ostermann has written — ludicrously — that this Catholic principle actually supports abortion on demand. To the contrary, the Holy See, in statements to the United Nations, continues to defend the ‘right to life’ as one of the core ‘pillars of integral human development,’” he said. “Some may claim that this appointment should be protected by academic freedom. Academic freedom concerns the liberty of faculty to conduct research according to their own professional judgment and interests. This appointment, by contrast, concerns the official administrative appointment to lead an academic unit. Such appointments have profound impact on the integrity of Notre Dame’s public witness as a Catholic university.”
Other Catholic leaders, including Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila of Denver, Colorado, and Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, have put out statements in support of Rhoades’ opposition.
While Notre Dame is one of the United States’ few Catholic universities that actually maintains its Catholic identity and mission as a core part of its existence, that focus has been seemingly diminishing for decades, as the institution has put things like artificial race and sex quotas and DEI at the forefront of its mission.
Last year, the school actually removed references to its Catholic mission from its staff values, no longer requiring that staff “understand and accept ‘the Catholic mission of the university.’” After scrutiny from media and Catholics, university leaders were pressured into walking back the omission, while acting like they did not actually remove it.
Waffling on the Catholic identity of Notre Dame, or outright opposition to it, has become more common in recent years.
As The Federalist reported, Notre Dame Provost John McGreevy said that the school’s submission to DEI ideology — like seeking to increase “the number of women and underrepresented minorities” in faculty — was “equally important” to hiring Catholic faculty.
The race and gender DEI focus at Notre Dame has been around since at least the 1970s, and Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, R-Ind., has launched a civil rights investigation into the school as a result.
