Bishops Continue to Urge Notre Dame to Reverse ‘Scandalous’ Appointment of Pro-Abortion Professor
More than a dozen U.S. bishops, including the USCCB leader, have called on Notre Dame to reverse a recent appointment. The controversy centers on the selection of Professor Susan Ostermann to direct the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies. Ostermann has a public record of supporting abortion and criticizing the pro-life movement. The criticism against Notre Dame has been ongoing since the appointment was announced in January. Ostermann's directorship of the institute is scheduled to begin on July 1.
14 days ago
The University of Notre Dame appointed associate professor Susan Ostermann as director of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, effective July 1, 2026.1
Ostermann has publicly supported abortion rights and criticized the pro-life movement, linking it to white supremacy and misogyny.1
Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, whose diocese includes Notre Dame, expressed dismay on February 11 and urged the university to rescind the appointment.1
He described it as strongly opposed to Catholic teachings.1
More than a dozen U.S. bishops joined the criticism, including Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila, Winona-Rochester Bishop Robert Barron, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, and USCCB President Archbishop Paul Coakley.1
Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield called it a "scandalous decision" incompatible with Notre Dame's Catholic mission.1
Cardinal Timothy Dolan agreed "heartily," stating Notre Dame should uphold the dignity of human life as a Catholic pillar.1
Arlington Bishop Michael Burbidge called it "unsettling and disappointing," urging prayers for reversal and emphasizing it transcends academic freedom.1
Notre Dame has signaled it will proceed, describing Ostermann as "well-prepared."1
Ostermann stated she respects the university's pro-life stance and is inspired by its focus on human dignity.1
Bishops argue the appointment causes confusion among the faithful and undermines the Church's ethic of life.1
They continue urging Notre Dame to reverse course and reaffirm its Catholic witness.1
Evaluate Catholic authority on academic appointments amid pro‑abortion controversy
Catholic teaching firmly establishes that universities claiming a Catholic identity bear a profound responsibility to integrate faith and reason in all facets of their mission, including faculty appointments. This obligation intensifies amid controversies involving pro-abortion positions, which the Church deems gravely immoral and incompatible with its doctrine on the sanctity of life. Drawing from key magisterial documents like Ex Corde Ecclesiae, the Church mandates that university authorities recruit and retain personnel committed to upholding Catholic principles, with bishops and ecclesiastical authorities exercising oversight to safeguard this identity. Pro-abortion advocacy by academics directly undermines this mission, prompting the Church to assert its authority to intervene where necessary.
A Catholic university is not merely an academic institution but a community explicitly linked to the Church, where "Catholic teaching and discipline are to influence all university activities." This identity requires public declaration through mission statements or equivalent documents, ensuring that research, teaching, and services align with "Catholic ideals, principles and attitudes." Pope John Paul II emphasized in Ex Corde Ecclesiae that such universities must balance institutional autonomy with fidelity to truth and the common good, preserving "the rights of the individual and of the community... within the confines of the truth and the common good."
This framework extends to confronting contemporary ethical challenges, including those in bioethics. The Congregation for Catholic Education underscores that Catholic universities must "study the grave problems of the day and propose solutions that express the religious and ethical values proper to a Christian vision of the human person," maintaining an "explicit link with the Church" at local and universal levels. Failure to do so risks diluting their role as a "Christian presence in the university world." In the context of pro-abortion controversy, where direct abortion is condemned as "gravely contrary to the moral law" and incurs excommunication, appointments of advocates for such views would contradict this core identity, as they oppose the protection of human dignity from conception.
The Church places primary responsibility for preserving Catholic identity on university authorities, including chancellors and boards of trustees, who must recruit "adequate university personnel, especially teachers and administrators, who are both willing and able to promote that identity." All teachers and administrators must be informed of this identity upon appointment and their duty to "promote, or at least to respect" it. Catholic teachers are called to be "faithful to... Catholic doctrine and morals in their research and teaching," while non-Catholic faculty must "recognize and respect the distinctive Catholic identity," with their numbers not forming a majority to prevent endangering the institution's Catholic character.
Pope John Paul II reinforced this in 2002, stating that universities failing to uphold "the law of the Church and the teaching of the Magisterium, especially in the matter of bioethics, cannot be considered as having the character of a Catholic university." Faculty appointments amid pro-abortion scandals thus fall under scrutiny: a professor publicly supporting abortion—described as a "criminal" practice—cannot faithfully teach or research in ways consistent with Catholic doctrine, as this would betray the "essential unity of knowledge" against fragmentation from detached reason. Pope Benedict XVI clarified that academic freedom, while valued, cannot justify "positions that contradict the faith and the teaching of the Church," as it would "obstruct or even betray the university's identity and mission."
Theologians, in particular, must respect the Magisterium as the "authentic interpreter of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition," with bishops encouraging their work while ensuring assent to Catholic doctrine. Dialogue between bishops and theologians is essential, underscoring ecclesiastical oversight.
While universities enjoy autonomy, this is not absolute; the "competent Authority" (typically the local bishop or episcopal conference) watches over teacher quality and fidelity to doctrine per canon law. Ex Corde Ecclesiae mandates structures and regulations to "guarantee the expression and the preservation of this identity." In practice, this authority enables bishops to withhold canonical recognition or degrees if identity is compromised, as seen in historical applications of the document.
Pope John Paul II invited self-assessment: universities must ensure "the rectitude and the upholding of Catholic principles in the teaching and research," with authorities bearing this duty as a "service to the Gospel, the Church, and the human person." Pro-abortion positions, involving formal cooperation in grave sin, trigger this oversight, as they erode the moral formation integral to student education, which must include "courses in Catholic doctrine... available to all students." Historical tensions, such as post-Vatican II debates over academic freedom leading to secularization efforts, highlight the need for vigilance to avoid "splintering" Catholic synthesis.
In controversies where academics endorse abortion—affirmed since the first century as morally evil—Catholic authorities possess clear grounds to evaluate appointments. Universities must prioritize "intellectual charity," leading youth to truth as an act of love, relating faith to civic life without contradiction. Retaining or hiring pro-abortion faculty risks majority non-Catholic influence or doctrinal infidelity, potentially disqualifying the institution's Catholic status. Bishops, as guardians of doctrine, hold ultimate authority to intervene, ensuring alignment with the Church's munus docendi (teaching office).
This evaluation reveals no ambiguity: Catholic authority prioritizes fidelity over unfettered autonomy, protecting the unborn's right to life and the university's evangelizing mission.
In summary, Ex Corde Ecclesiae and related teachings grant university leaders primary responsibility for Catholic-aligned appointments, under bishops' vigilant oversight. Pro-abortion stances gravely undermine this, compelling rejection or removal to preserve identity, as non-fidelity forfeits Catholic character. This framework upholds truth, dignity, and the Church's witness amid ethical controversies.