Has Notre Dame hurt its future?

I have had a wide variety of responses to the Notre Dame situation (see my previous 3 posts). I am not going to reiterate the comments made in my previous blogs because everyone can simply go read them. I do however want to discuss a few of the effects that this has had both on Catholics and on the university.

I already pointed out that nearly 1500 alumni have stated that they will withhold their donations to the university, which has been estimated to total about $14 million dollars. So, financially the university has taken a hit. Theologically, many Catholic are questioning whether the teachings of the university reflect the true teachings of the Catholic faith. Which brings me to the last point that some are reconsidering their desire to attend the university. Now, I am not a graduate of Notre Dame so I cannot speak to the theological soundness of its program. Regardless, the fact is that some ARE questionings it and this is resulting in some questioning attending the university. Even one of its professors, Professor Richard Garnett, agrees with these assessments. He told Fox News, "My strong hope is that serious Catholics will not let this particular incident drive them away from Notre Dame, which remains very important in the life of the Church. But, Notre Dame has allowed itself to get into a very unhealthy adversarial relationship with many bishops, and lay Catholics." John Souder, a student who just graduated also agreed saying, "Notre Dame's standing within the Catholic community will lessen. For many years, Notre Dame has stood as a symbol of American Catholicism ... This invitation has been perceived, and understandably so, (as) a betrayal of this identity."

I think both people are correct. This incident has altered the perception many Catholics toward the university. It is going to be extremely difficult if not impossible for the university to fully recover and return to its former prestige. In my next blog entry I want to discuss some of the responses from Catholics at my parish. Notre Dame's decision is blurring the understanding of some Catholics as to the teachings of the Church. Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 12:40 | link | comments (1) |
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