Anonymous has left the following comment on my last post on Notre Dame:
"I am sorry Catholic kids do not make a school Catholic, what makes a school Catholic is the people that teach their (being in good standing with the Vatican) and the people that attend the school actually believe what the Church teaches...so far ND is batting 0-2.Hence it is catholic with a small c and not a BIG C as say Franciscan Univ. is!!! "
OK, anon, what is this all about? I will grant you that Franciscan University has a greater unity of faithfulness among students and faculty than does Notre Dame. It is also much smaller than ND. Franciscan University of Steubenville is a wonderfully unusual faith-filled place. It's fantastic. Does that mean no Catholic young person should attend any other university?
Do you think that the Lord wants to abandon Notre Dame (as you seem to be doing) because of the few isolated areas that have drifted? I think Scripture tells us that the Lord tends to do just the opposite.
Are you trying to say that there are no faithful faculty members or faithful students at Notre Dame? That's ridiculous. Where is your data to back up your claim? My son took an entire course on John Paul the Great's Theology of the Body. He also took an entire course on the Reformation from, naturally, a very Catholic point of view. There's a Eucharistic Chapel in every dorm, large enough for daily Masses. Public rosaries are said every night at the grotto.
Do you know anything at all about the President of Notre Dame, Father Jenkins, who is widely regarded as a good and faithful priest?
Did you know that this year's valedictorian is entering the seminary? I urge you to read his valedictory address. Here is one quote. "I likewise was taken aback when I noticed in my dorm that the most popular weekend spot was the chapel for Sunday night Mass. The University’s faith foundation was instrumental in my decision to come here, though only after arriving as a student did I start to realize the distinctiveness of this place and the role faith plays in that distinctiveness."
Like many faithful Catholics have done, Anon, you seem to be looking at a few isolated examples of problems at Notre Dame and then generalized that impression to the whole university. Such judging is prejudice. You have prejudged the entire university with inadequate information. To do so is an unjust accusation made against a very large community of people, most of whom are decent people trying to be good Catholics.
I think you ought to leave Our Lady's University alone, or better yet, pray that it will be purified of all that displeases her, that Father Jenkins will be given wisdom and courage to continue the housecleaning he has already begun. (I'm always sympathetic to those who need to do a little housecleaning....)
The body of Christ is very large and the battle for the hearts, minds, and souls of our children is fierce. Petty finger-pointing only serves to weaken us a a church.
10 comments:
Dear Rosemary,
I am proud to say that, like your son, I hold a degree from the University of Notre Dame du Lac. Having matriculated there, I can assure the wildly confused "anon" writer that the university is Catholic... always has been, always will be. My family and I loved all the daily opportunities for attending Mass and for celebrating various other sacraments there, throughout the year. The Holy Cross priests and brothers are not as plentiful as in decades past, but when you are on campus, you KNOW that they are the caretakers of Our Lady's school. I was taught by many wonderful faculty, some of whom were Catholic, while others were not. Yet all the faculty that I knew shared a deep respect for our faith and for Notre Dame's dual mission of being a beacon, both academically and spiritually. The majority of my classmates were Catholic; good, smart, often athletic, amazing people. We learned a lot, prayed a lot, and had a tremendous experience there.
Having also attended another Catholic institution for another degree, and having lived in many Catholic parishes throughout my life, I can assure you that Notre Dame is at least, if not more, Catholic than most places around... in character, in charter, in composition of faculty/staff/students, in giving witness to the world.
I love that ND vibrantly fulfills the scriptural calling to be "in the world, not of it." The vast majority of people there (administration, faculty, students, and countless guests) were keenly interested in understanding and influencing the secular world around us, while celebrating our Catholic identity and growing in our faith journey. I believe Pope John XXIII's vision for Vatican II (as a call for the Church to acknowledge societal changes but to more importantly have Catholics more fully engaged in society, doing Christ's work) is realized in the living, breathing institution that is Notre Dame and the Notre Dame family. I am proud to be a part of this family with you, and your son.
On a side-note for a minute, three times in my life I have gone to Steubenville to participate in Catholic conferences. It is a nice, small, very insulated, Catholic school. Everyone I met who was associated with that school was super-fervent, very devout. That is a fine expression of Catholicism. Yet I never got the sense that Franciscan U. folks were as connected with the world around them, or as willing to engage in the world. To me, it seemed that the majority opinion was "it's Orthodox, or it is wrong, and if it is wrong, we want nothing to do with it." I was, and am, troubled by that separation. For me, it makes more sense to learn all I can about myself, my God, my faith, AND about the world around me, so I can be a fully-engaged Catholic. No retreating, no casting aspersions, no sanctimonious speech; just honest engagement and dialogue in this amazing and challenging life, on our way to the next.
I humbly and happily add my congratulations to your son, to you, and to your whole family. Isn't it great to be part of the Notre Dame community? I hope "anon" either finds other channels for his/her energies, or actually spends some time at Our Lady's school, to start to understand what you and I appreciate.
Love ND (Go Irish!) =) -Domer Joe
Oh My Gosh!
First, Rosemary, brilliant, thoughtful responses! Bravo!
Next, will the mean-spirited, "anon"(small a, or maybe it should be Big A!)please focus her/his misguided energy elsewhere and leave the rest of us to celebrate along with Rosemary the accomplishments of her fine son upon his graduation from this esteemed university?
Should we surmise that Anon was rejected from ND or had a child that was? How wicked to comment "sorry to burst your bubble" to a mother upon her beloved son's graduation. Why, I bet you tell first-time moms that their newborns are ugly.
Anon barely dignifies a response, because those of us who know and love Notre Dame also know how wrong s/he is. But his/her Pharisee-like attitude is pathetic. Get off your high horse, Anon. Like Mom says, "If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing!"
Rosemary, heartiest congratulations to you and your family. We are so proud!
In Notre Dame, Our Mother,
Mary
Hey Anonymous,
It's teach "there", not "their". If you had gone to ND, you would know that!
Go Irish!
Paul
Rosemary,
This post is wonderful. This so needed to be said. Anon is overly prideful and we all know what too much pride can do. It just messes up everything. We cannot change things if we don't get in there and do it.
If we don't support the students who are going to ANY Catholic Univ. who are praying to keep close to God and help to make their university a decent and holy place, then that is sad. Thank God that not everyone who supports Franciscan Univ. and Notre Dame thinks and acts in this fashion.
The only thing good that can come from comments like anon is that it urges us to pray and work even more!
A side note to DomerJoe...not all people at Franciscan look at things as you say..I know several who graduated from there and are some of the most outgoing, loving youth ministers I've ever seen! There will be many wonderful people coming forth from both universities and therefore we need to let go of the things we came away with that were also negative that you point out...we must remember that this is plantet earth after all and we aren't in Heaven nor have any of us here attained sainthood. I am just thankful that you love the Catholic Faith and keep trying to work together with people...no matter what Catholic univ. they graduated from...we need to keep building up one another...not tearing one another down. BTW..I live in Indiana and am proud of much about both universities. Thanks for praying about this! :) It is NOT
healthy or beneficial to keep finding the faults...only the positives. THAT is what Our Lord and Our Lady want. The evil one wants the other...a house divided will fall.
God bless you.
Rose, great post! People who post anonymously don't have the temerity to defend their position publicly. As we say in cyberspace, "Don't feed the trolls."
Some time ago I mentioned to you a professor of philosophy at ND -- his name is Ralph McInerny. Here's the URL to his ND bio page: http://www2.nd.edu/Departments/Maritain/cvrm0.htm (sorry, you'll have to do a copy-and-paste into your browser!). If you get the chance, read some of his truly orthodox Catholic writings. He's the author of the Father Dowling mystery series (the books are not as silly as the TV show), but also of many, many scholarly tomes.
One I recommend in particular is "What Went Wrong With Vatican II" -- Sophia Press, 1998.
Ruthann
Hmm...guess you did not like the link I provided that showed that ND was not in "good standing"
As far as me and my kids...I never had any desire to attend ND and my kids are only a freshmen and sophomore in H.S. but ND is not their desire for college either...they prefer actual Catholic Colleges not just ones that are catholic in name :)
God Bless!
Blah, blah blah, Anonymous!
You are just as ignorant and prideful as ever, despite Rose's sweet gesture. And Notre Dame is still Catholic as ever.
Rose, I'm now with the gal who commented about those who remain Anonymous in cyberspace; "Don't feed the trolls!" Her grammar is still incorrect, too!
As for me and my ND family, we thank you for lighting a candle for us at this most sacred place.
In Notre Dame, Our Mother
Mary
Anon, I don't remember seeing any link. "Not in good standing"? Someone should tell Archbishop Elias Chacour of Galilee and The Reverend Raniero Cantalamessa (preacher to the papal household since his appointment in 1980 by John Paul II) both of whom received Honorary Doctorates at this year's commencement.
Anon...why aren't you brave enough to sign your name? Do you really think that even if we knew you...we'd be that hurt with you that we could not talk these things out better with respect to the Catholic Church?
Do you really believe that you can "fix" anything with your attitude?
Do you really believe that if there is more improvement needed at any Catholic university, that it can happen in this way? It doesn't help. Just pray more about it all instead of running it down and trust that people like Rosemary and many more are on their knees and maybe think about joining in that way instead of running it down more. That makes very little sense.
I would like to make an example of this, I have noticed that when an athiest attacks the Church, for instance Richard Dawkins, why do they all of a sudden disappear when people begin to oppose them? My pastor could defeat Richard Dawkins in a debate, but that's not saying much seeing that my pastor is amazing. So I wish that Anon, and I am not calling you a coward or an athiest in any way just in case there is a misunderstanding, could sit down with some Notre Dame fans and grads and talk it out and Anon, you will see how wrong you are to first accuse your sisters and brothers in Faith but also that Notre Dame is a bad school. I am taking a trip to Stuebenville this summer and will see your side of the arguement but I think that my stance on this arguement will stay the same because of the awesome presence of Our Lady at HER university.
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