Students at Notre Dame shifted a planned protest into a prayer gathering following Professor Susan Ostermann's withdrawal from the directorship of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies. The 'March on the Dome' originally intended to protest Ostermann's appointment due to her stance on abortion. Ostermann stated her decision to decline the directorship was made because the focus on her appointment was overshadowing the Institute's vital work. Ostermann expressed a commitment to building a Notre Dame community where diverse voices can flourish openly. Organizers reframed the event as a gathering of thanksgiving and hope for the future after Ostermann withdrew.
5 days ago
Students at the University of Notre Dame held a "March on the Dome" on February 27, originally planned as a protest against Professor Susan Ostermann's appointment as director of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies.1
The event shifted to a prayerful gathering of thanksgiving after Ostermann declined the role, with participants processing to the campus grotto, singing Marian hymns, praying, and lighting candles.1
Ostermann, described as an outspoken proponent of abortion, faced backlash over her appointment.1
The march was organized by students Luke Woodyard and Gabriel Ortner in response to the university's decision.1
In an email to students, Ostermann explained her decision, stating her goal was to serve the institute but the focus on her appointment risked overshadowing its work.1
She emphasized the need for a campus community where diverse voices can flourish, adding that she would collaborate on building such an environment without taking the directorship.1
Woodyard addressed the crowd, noting the event's transformation into one of gratitude to God and Our Lady, and affirmed commitment to upholding Notre Dame's mission.1
Ortner called for university accountability, demanding consequences for Mary Gallagher, who made the appointment, and clarity for Provost John McGreevy on prioritizing Catholic identity.1
Junior Ned Kerwin linked the issue to past controversies, such as the 2009 invitation of President Barack Obama to commencement, criticizing Notre Dame's public image on Catholic values.1
He argued that a stronger administrative stance could improve the university's influence in the Catholic world.1
Professor Emeritus Fr. Wilson Miscamble suggested students save their candles for potential future university decisions requiring prayer.1
Participants urged the university to issue an apology and take further steps to affirm its Catholic identity following Ostermann's withdrawal.1
Examine Catholic teaching on academic freedom versus moral responsibility
Catholic doctrine robustly affirms academic freedom as essential to the pursuit of truth in universities and scholarly endeavors, yet it is intrinsically ordered to moral responsibility, fidelity to Revelation, and the common good. This balance ensures that freedom serves human dignity and the Church's mission rather than contradicting it.
In Catholic universities, academic freedom is recognized as vital for an academic community to protect and advance human dignity and cultural heritage through research, teaching, and service. Pope John Paul II articulates that every Catholic university "possesses that institutional autonomy necessary to perform its functions effectively and guarantees its members academic freedom, so long as the rights of the individual person and of the community are preserved within the confines of the truth and the common good." This freedom aligns with the Church's acceptance of the "legitimate autonomy of human culture and especially of the sciences," allowing scholars in each discipline—including theology—to operate according to their principles and methods.
Pope Benedict XVI reaffirms this, stating that faculty at Catholic colleges and universities are called "to search for the truth wherever careful analysis of evidence leads you." However, this freedom is not absolute; it is a professional witness that upholds the "essential unity of knowledge against the fragmentation which ensues when reason is detached from the pursuit of truth." The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith echoes this in describing freedom of research as "an openness to accepting the truth that emerges at the end of an investigation in which no element has intruded that is foreign to the methodology corresponding to the object under study."
Moral responsibility tempers academic freedom, particularly in theology, where the object of study is Revelation "handed on and interpreted in the Church under the authority of the Magisterium, and received by faith." Theologians enjoy freedom "so long as they are faithful to these principles and methods," seeking to understand, develop, and communicate Christian Revelation while investigating contemporary questions. Critically, "it is intrinsic to the principles and methods of their research and teaching... that theologians respect the authority of the Bishops, and assent to Catholic doctrine according to the degree of authority with which it is taught." Dialogue between bishops and theologians is "essential," especially amid rapid media dissemination of research.
Pope Benedict XVI warns that "any appeal to the principle of academic freedom in order to justify positions that contradict the faith and the teaching of the Church would obstruct or even betray the university's identity and mission; a mission at the heart of the Church’s munus docendi and not somehow autonomous or independent of it." This underscores intellectual charity, an act of love that leads the young to truth, fostering their perfection and happiness by relating faith to family and civic life.
Bishops play a confirmatory role in moral teaching, assisted by theologians and lay wisdom, exercising the Magisterium collegially with the Pope. Pope John Paul II emphasizes academics' mission to draw closer to "the unfathomable mystery of God" with humility and wisdom, cooperating in Providence's lofty task.
Theology, both natural and revealed, serves as a "capstone" integrating disciplines, reminding them that "the greatest freedom comes with the contemplation and communication of the transcendent truth of God." It guards against the university's "total functionalization and commodification," ensuring academic freedom originates in the intrinsic value of liberal arts—the freedom to pursue truth for its own sake. Catholic universities thus serve society through dialogue, cultural understanding, and solidarity, expecting civil recognition of their autonomy while committing to the common good.
Pope John Paul II highlights theology's priority in meditating on Christ's mystery, guiding study toward Revelation as the "true lodestar" for truth, goodness, and charity.
Where controversy arises—such as research contradicting doctrine—Catholic teaching prioritizes moral responsibility. Freedom cannot eliminate Revelation's principles, as "to eliminate them would mean to cease doing theology." Recent papal addresses (e.g., Benedict XVI in 2008) build on Ex Corde Ecclesiae (1990), reinforcing that more authoritative Magisterial interventions take precedence.
In practice:
No sources indicate unresolved disagreements; all converge on freedom ordered to truth.
Catholic teaching harmonizes academic freedom with moral responsibility by rooting both in the pursuit of transcendent truth under the Magisterium's guidance. Freedom thrives when bounded by fidelity to doctrine, the common good, and Revelation, preventing betrayal of the Church's educational mission. This vision, from Ex Corde Ecclesiae to papal addresses, calls scholars to intellectual charity that serves God, the Church, and society.