A Notre Dame professor who believes laws against abortion “have their roots in white supremacy and racism” has decided not to accept a position directing an academic institute at the school after serious blowback from students, donors and bishops.According to The Pillar, Susan Osterman, a researcher and professor at Notre Dame University decided not to move forward with her appointment as the new director of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies at the Keough School of Global Affairs.
Although she voluntarily withdrew from the position, the decision came after a barrage of criticism from students, faculty and a number of bishops led by local Fort-Wayne-South Bend Bishop Kevin Rhoades. Donors were said to be “livid” about the university’s decision to promote a woman with such radical pro-abortion views.
As Catholic League President Bill Donohue wrote, “She [Osterman] is not someone who happens to be ‘pro-choice’—she is a pro-abortion zealot. Any person who falsely claims that the pro-life movement has ‘its roots in white supremacy and racism,’ and condemns crisis pregnancy centers as ‘anti-abortion propaganda sites,’ belongs working at Planned Parenthood, not Notre Dame . . .”
However, Notre Dame president Fr. Robert Dowd claims that he was “blindsided” by both the appointment and the public outrage that came in its wake, including that of a number of bishops.
A source told The Pillar that “it was many more [bishops] than made their names public,” with nearly a dozen others raising private objections to Dowd.
In addition, two professors affiliated with the Liu Institute resigned in protest.
This is not the first time Osterman’s pro-abortion position has caused trouble for the university.
According to the Irish Rover, a student publication dedicated to preserving the Catholic identity of the university, Osterman and fellow Notre Dame professor Tamara Kay wrote an article in 2022 for the Chicago Tribune in which they expressed their pro-abortion views. The two listed the five “lies” told about abortion in order to justify restriction, such as how abortion kills babies, arguing that “Almost 90% of abortions occur during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy when there are no babies or fetuses. There are only blastocysts or embryos so tiny they are too small to be seen on an abdominal ultrasound.”
In response, former Notre Dame President Father John Jenkins O.S.C. wrote a response to the newspaper. “Because they choose to identify themselves as Notre Dame faculty members, I write to state unequivocally that their essay does not reflect the views and values of the University of Notre Dame in its tone, arguments or assertions.”
It’s not surprising that Osterman’s new appointment triggered an immediate response from the Catholic bishop, led by South Bend Bishop Kevin Rhoades who referred to Osterman’s appointment as a “scandal” and voiced his “strong opposition” to it.
“Such appointments have profound impact on the integrity of Notre Dame’s public witness as a Catholic university,” Rhoades said.
He went on to call upon the university to “rectify this situation.”
On February 26, the day Osterman decided to withdraw from the appointment, Bishop Rhoades issued a statement expressing his gratitude “to all the members of the Notre Dame community and beyond who, out of love for Notre Dame, expressed their opposition to the appointment.”
He went on to say that “Clearly Notre Dame is reaffirming its fidelity to a core truth of Catholic social teaching that is central to the Church’s commitment to integral human development. . . . That mission commitment is compromised when a Catholic university appoints leaders or bestows honors on those who act or speak against fundamental teachings of the Church. This is not an issue about academic freedom or scholarly engagement. Academic freedom protects inquiry. It does not require institutional self-contradiction.”
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace® http://www.womenofgrace.com
