Learning From Notre Dame: Catholic Identity is Not Optional
Catholic identity requires that the College community understand its ecclesial nature and mission.
Education is not something the Church adds something to, as though the process of educating were some kind of nakedly secular pursuit which the Church somehow makes “religious”. Rather, education is at the core of the Churches’ saving mission.
PrintCHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) - “By its very nature, each Catholic university makes an important contribution to the Church's work of evangelization. It is a living institutional witness to Christ and his message, so vitally important in cultures marked by secularism, or where Christ and his message are still virtually unknown.” (Apostolic Constitution on Catholic Universities)
Notre Dame’s decision to confer an honorary Doctor of Law Degree upon a President who fails to recognize the Right to Life has a silver lining. Catholics in America are saying “Not in our House”. Notre Dame is named after the Woman who’s “yes” to the Angel forever changed human history. The Incarnate Word became flesh and dwelt within Our Lady. Jesus was an embryonic person and developed as a child in the first home of the whole human race, the womb of His Holy Mother. That fundamental truth lies at the heart of the Christian claim. Every procured abortion is an intrinsically evil act because it is the taking of innocent human life. It can never be accepted as a “right” even if the errant positive law proclaims if to be so. The Natural Law written on every human heart confirms what science demonstrates, the child in the womb is one of us.
This U.S.President who calls us to care for our neighbor has a terrible blind side in his claims to compassion and solidarity. He fails to hear the cry of the poor in the womb. In the words of the Bishops of the United States: “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.” In spite of the sophistry of Fr. Jenkins, Notre Dame has overtly disobeyed this clear instruction.
The challenge faced by all serving the Church as she is present in the Catholic College community can be understood within a broader challenge facing the whole Church, what the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council called the “separation between faith and life.” This separation was addressed in their document on the Mission of the Church in the Modern World: "This council exhorts Christians, as citizens of two cities, to strive to discharge their earthly duties conscientiously and in response to the Gospel spirit. They are mistaken who, knowing that we have here no abiding city but seek one which is to come think that they may therefore shirk their earthly responsibilities. For they are forgetting that by the faith itself they are more obliged than ever to measure up to these duties, each according to his proper vocation. Nor, on the contrary, are they any less wide of the mark who think that religion consists in acts of worship alone and in the discharge of certain moral obligations, and who imagine they can plunge themselves into earthly affairs in such a way as to imply that these are altogether divorced from the religious life. This split between the faith which many profess and their daily lives deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age."
Western culture would not be in moral decline if Catholics lived their Christian faith in an integrated manner,in the words of Pope Benedict with "moral coherence". It was to respond to this challenge that the late Servant of God, John Paul II, called for a “New Evangelization.” That call has borne fruit throughout the entire Church, including in the new Catholic Colleges and the renewed and restored Catholic Colleges. They are a primary resource for the work that must be done. The Catholic College must become the front line. Before Antioch, where the followers of Jesus were first called Christians, they were often referred to as “The Way” (See, Acts 22). Their lifestyle was different from that of the prevailing culture. Their faith informed how they lived their daily lives. It also made their evangelizing and sanctifying mission extraordinarily fruitful. This new way of living is still meant to be normative among those who bear the name Christian. Its’ recovery is essential to the mission of the whole Church in the Third Millennium.
Catholic Identity
Within the Catholic College there has been an erosion of Catholic identity on many campuses. Catholic identity requires that the College community understand its ecclesial nature. In an institution, just as in persons, it begins from the inside and works its way throughout like leaven or yeast in a loaf. Catholic identity must become the beating heart of a Catholic College and provide the infrastructure for its entire educational mission. When it does, the building of a Catholic culture on campus becomes a fruit. This kind of Catholic culture helps to ensure the integration of the faith in every aspect of the academy through word and witness. It flourishes when all who are involved in this educational mission, from the Catholic College President to ...
Notre Dame’s decision to confer an honorary Doctor of Law Degree upon a President who fails to recognize the Right to Life has a silver lining. Catholics in America are saying “Not in our House”. Notre Dame is named after the Woman who’s “yes” to the Angel forever changed human history. The Incarnate Word became flesh and dwelt within Our Lady. Jesus was an embryonic person and developed as a child in the first home of the whole human race, the womb of His Holy Mother. That fundamental truth lies at the heart of the Christian claim. Every procured abortion is an intrinsically evil act because it is the taking of innocent human life. It can never be accepted as a “right” even if the errant positive law proclaims if to be so. The Natural Law written on every human heart confirms what science demonstrates, the child in the womb is one of us.
This U.S.President who calls us to care for our neighbor has a terrible blind side in his claims to compassion and solidarity. He fails to hear the cry of the poor in the womb. In the words of the Bishops of the United States: “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.” In spite of the sophistry of Fr. Jenkins, Notre Dame has overtly disobeyed this clear instruction.
The challenge faced by all serving the Church as she is present in the Catholic College community can be understood within a broader challenge facing the whole Church, what the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council called the “separation between faith and life.” This separation was addressed in their document on the Mission of the Church in the Modern World: "This council exhorts Christians, as citizens of two cities, to strive to discharge their earthly duties conscientiously and in response to the Gospel spirit. They are mistaken who, knowing that we have here no abiding city but seek one which is to come think that they may therefore shirk their earthly responsibilities. For they are forgetting that by the faith itself they are more obliged than ever to measure up to these duties, each according to his proper vocation. Nor, on the contrary, are they any less wide of the mark who think that religion consists in acts of worship alone and in the discharge of certain moral obligations, and who imagine they can plunge themselves into earthly affairs in such a way as to imply that these are altogether divorced from the religious life. This split between the faith which many profess and their daily lives deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age."
Western culture would not be in moral decline if Catholics lived their Christian faith in an integrated manner,in the words of Pope Benedict with "moral coherence". It was to respond to this challenge that the late Servant of God, John Paul II, called for a “New Evangelization.” That call has borne fruit throughout the entire Church, including in the new Catholic Colleges and the renewed and restored Catholic Colleges. They are a primary resource for the work that must be done. The Catholic College must become the front line. Before Antioch, where the followers of Jesus were first called Christians, they were often referred to as “The Way” (See, Acts 22). Their lifestyle was different from that of the prevailing culture. Their faith informed how they lived their daily lives. It also made their evangelizing and sanctifying mission extraordinarily fruitful. This new way of living is still meant to be normative among those who bear the name Christian. Its’ recovery is essential to the mission of the whole Church in the Third Millennium.
Catholic Identity
Within the Catholic College there has been an erosion of Catholic identity on many campuses. Catholic identity requires that the College community understand its ecclesial nature. In an institution, just as in persons, it begins from the inside and works its way throughout like leaven or yeast in a loaf. Catholic identity must become the beating heart of a Catholic College and provide the infrastructure for its entire educational mission. When it does, the building of a Catholic culture on campus becomes a fruit. This kind of Catholic culture helps to ensure the integration of the faith in every aspect of the academy through word and witness. It flourishes when all who are involved in this educational mission, from the Catholic College President to ...
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It's all about money! These universties must cater to everyone. That's why I think that's why they have become so watered down!
forgive me, I ended prematurely.
As I was saying in response to Mr. Ready:
The Holy Father has declared that, "...Not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion and euthanasia. For example, if a Catholic were to be at odds with the Holy Father on the application of capital punishment or on the decision to wage war, he would not for that reason be considered unworthy to present himself to receive Holy Communion. While the Church exhorts civil authorities to seek peace, not war, and to exercise discretion and mercy in imposing punishment on criminals, it may still be permissible to take up arms to repel an aggressor or to have recourse to capital punishment. There may be a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not however with regard to abortion and euthanasia." So, I believe this makes your argument specious, at best and cynical at worst.
The Blessed Mother weeps...Notre Dame, change your name.
Thank you...and please pray for everyone connected to this issue on both sides.
Well, I see the Notre Dame apologists have finally mobilized. Daniel Amiri calls Franciscan University "Jesus Camp"...demonstrating his self-proclaimed "kindness and respect..." but instead insulting Jesus, Franciscan and himself. Daniel, have you ever been to Steubenville? Do you know anything about it really? Then Mr. Tim Ready Then leaps into the fray saying that if we disagree with him then we "...do not know Notre Dame..." Respectfully, Mr. Ready, I'm one of those ignorant Catholics who has donated well into the high five figures to NDU over the past couple of decades...likely paying your salary and subsidizing your scholarship(s). I always appreciate being told that a Catholic institution should compromise its values for the greater seculer and worldly good by the likes of you. Incidentally, the holy Father stated clearly and unambiguously that not all moral issues carry the same weight.
its really a shame to be honoring someone who prefers to kill innocents who cant defend themselves...
It is interesting to note that the University of Arizona will NOT honor Mr. Obama with an honorary degree when he speaks at their commencement on May 13th. Their stance is that they do not honor someone who has no body of work behind them. What a further embarassment for ND!
Thank you for this article.
I too am proud to be Catholic and I pray for this continued re-discovery of our Catholic Identity and way of life, not only in the Colleges but in the life and home of every Catholic.
Jesus is making everything new again - a new springtime in the church and in the world. It is a wonderful time to be alive. Where Jesus is - there is hope for Jesus is the Way the Truth and the Life.
Thank you
God Bless
As a Catholic community we need to ask for the resignation of Notre Dame's President.
Our lives as Catholics is to know God, love God, and serve God. Place our will secondary to His. Sacrifice our lives for His purpose. It is easy to do otherwise and hide behind reason, or mutual respect, or exploring yourself. It is what we practice that makes us, "in Christ" - which is difficult to do when your leaders follow sin. God knows all of us more than we know ourselves, and He is fighting for our souls through us - well, those of us whom choose to let Him reign in us. I applaud the ND student whom chooses to follow His will while in college, you are awesome! Thanks for the hope and faith.
A clear presentation on the responsibilities of Catholic universities and their great potential.
Were it not for the powerful witness of The College of Steubenville now Franciscan University, I might never have become a Catholic convert in 1980. And that was just from reading about the college in New Covenant magazine. The first time I visited that campus as a recent convert, it was like a foretaste of heaven. My husband and I attended a conference on marriage and family where an Italian Monsignor impressed me with some very powerful words: "All our monuments will someday crumble, the White House, the Kremlin, even the buildings of the Vatican. In the end only two things will remain, Gods Glory and the beauty of your person." I pray that somehow those directing the future of Notre Dame will come to understand that message.