Catholic Faculty at Notre Dame

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Disclaimer:

The only thing I have contribute here is my insistence, in response to another’s post, that the theology department must be entirely Catholic. I do not believe anything I have written is bashing ND. I make no claims as to the orthodoxy or heterodoxy of ND.

All of this being said, I must absolutely insist that the work of Catholic university or college, and for that matter all Catholic institutes of learning, whether ND, CUA, etc, schools on this or that side of the Atlantic, is to form students for work in the Church and society and/or to add to the study of useful knowledge in accord with the teachings of the Church.
 
Tom317,

Here you go! I suggest you look through all of this information. I think you’ll find it enlightening. It all came from ND’s website.

Current students giving up their fall break to help the poor:
newsinfo.nd.edu/content.cfm?topicid=19583&seltopicid=3427

Alliance for Catholic Education:
ace.nd.edu/

Campus Ministry:
campusministry.nd.edu/

Basilica of the Sacred Heart:
nd.edu/~bshweb/

Fathers of the Holy Cross:
cscip.org/

Folk Choir
nd.edu/~folk/

Holy Cross Associates (missionaries):
holycrossassociates.nd.edu/

Vocation Office:
nd.edu/~vocation/

Seminary Programs:
vocation.nd.edu/seminary_programs/

Old College (undergarduate seminary program):
vocation.nd.edu/seminary_programs/old_college_program.shtml

Holy Cross Brothers Program:
vocation.nd.edu/seminary_programs/brothers_program.shtml

Holy Cross Association:
orgsites.com/in/holycross/

Institute for Church Life:
nd.edu/~icl/

Center for Catechetical Initiatives:
nd.edu/~cci/

Center for Liturgy:
liturgy.nd.edu/

Center for Social Concerns:
centerforsocialconcerns.nd.edu/

ND Vision (retreat program for high school students):
nd.edu/~ndvi/

Liturgical Choir:
nd.edu/~litchoir/

Sacred Heart Parish:
nd.edu/~sacheart/

Sisters of the Holy Cross:
cscsisters.org/

Women’s Liturgical Choir:
nd.edu/~ndwlc/

Residence Hall Chapels:
orlh.nd.edu/halls/chapels/

Right to Life:
nd.edu/~prolife/

Knights of Columbus:
nd.edu/~knights/

Knights of Immaculata/Children of Mary:
nd.edu/~mary/

All-tuition paid Masters of Divinity program:
nd.edu/~mdiv/

Fatima Retreat Center:
nd.edu/~fatima/

Saint Thomas Moore Society:
nd.edu/~ndlawtms/

Ave Maria Press:
avemariapress.com/

Erasmus Institute:
nd.edu/~erasmus/

If you read through the above websites, I’m sure you will learn more about the true Notre Dame. Through these websites it is obvious that Notre Dame does a lot for the continuation and growth of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States and around the world. You asked if Notre Dame graduates enter religious life. The answer is yes. There is a seminary right on campus with an undergraduate program as well. I hope this helps! God Bless!

Yours in Our Lady…
 
Domer,

Lists of negative sites can also be placed on this forum, do we need to go into point and counter-point immature rants on these threads?

List the names and people who have helped/changed the Church…instead of links, as a former student, you should be able to quickly list at least 5-10 people who have greatly impacted the Catholic faith in this nation…name them. Show us the actual fruit, not links.

Then explain why ND has a gay/lesbian club, or why VM was even allowed on campus, or why Andrew Sullivan was asked to speak, or why Father Mcbrien is allowed to continue to point Catholics to a path to hell. Explain how ND is negating all that harm and what people are negating it…then explain why the school is not loyal to the Pope and Rome.
 
Tom317,
You obviously did not take the time to completely read those sites that I pointed out to you. I would not call this an immature “rant”. If anyone is being immature it is you by not admitting that there are numerous ways that Notre Dame is benefiting the Catholic Church.

I will not name my friends on this website who are helping the Church because I believe that is a privacy issue. However, I have two friends who became Holy Cross priests (one is the most orthodox and devout person I have ever met. He is currently suffering from cancer, so I pray for him often). One of my friends developed and runs a meal service for the poor through his parish in Los Angeles. Another friend is a Dominican nun (she actually went to St. Marys College), one of my best friends tutored impoverished youths in Eastern European countries. I have four good friends who served two years in Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education, teaching for pennies in impoverished American Catholic schools. And a majority of my friends are devout members of their local parishes around the nation.

FYI…Notre Dame does not have a student gay/lesbian club. It never has. Notre Dame allowed the Vagina Monolgues on campus with a discussion of Catholic beliefs on human sexuality. I don’t know when Andrew Sullivan spoke at Notre Dame, which department sponsored it, or why he spoke there, or what the topic was. I do know that he also spoke at BC and Georgetown. I do know that most of the theology profs at Notre Dame has signed the Mandatum. I also know that our percentage will not be 100% as long as tenured Fr. Richard McBrien is in the department. But, he cannot last forever. In the meantime, the university is doing her best to achieve a high level of Catholic identity around campus. Notre Dame is making progress and we need to pray that this continues and that it starts and continues with other American Catholic Universities.

Let’s not forget, though, that Catholic universities are indeed universities. We must respect dialogue from both sides in order to strengthen our faith and form strong Catholic convictions and beliefs. This builds our faith, and makes it strong, so it can stand through any trial or tribulation.
 
Domer,

There is little reason to continue this talk. You have your mind made-up about ND and seem to not want to admit the sorry shape it is in. It is fixable, yet it will not happen unless Catholics are willing to be honest about the problems. You minimize the problems at ND (which are just flat huge), while telling us the wonderous things ND does (though keep in mind that even an abortionist can do some good in his life, while concurrently murdering babies during his day job). Being unwilling to attack the truth is not going to help fix ND, it will just help hide the truth once again and five years from now ND will be no better and perhaps worse.

IMO, ND’s situation mirrors our culture, and its students are very much a product of the culture. So, it is going to take authentic courage for Catholic institutions to become fully Catholic again–which means Catholics must be willing to suffer. With God’s help all things are possible, yet people must be open to God or else nothing changes and just simply gets worse. Our nation and ND are quite similar in nature, they are both fully attached to the world. Sadly.

God Bless and thanks for the chat.
 
Domer1997 said:
Brucealeg…I thank you.

I am truly saddened that there are members on this forum who claim to be Catholic and flat-out slam my alma mater without even acknowledging the good within the university walls. Remarks such as “your alma mater has no soul in it” or “…ND pretending to be a Catholic school” are personal offenses. I am a product of that school as are my closest friends. All of us are good, moral, practicing Catholics that work hard to love God and His people and not judge others. It is for God to judge others. We are stepping out of our bounds as humans when we do this.

“Amen I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.”

I don’t know why their is such a bitter sentiment from many regarding Notre Dame. Is it jealosy? Is it hatred? Eighty-Five percent of the student body is Catholic and over 10% of graduates go into service for others post graduation…making pennies and living in impoverished conditions. “No Soul”!!! Are you kidding me? Fellow Domers…back me up on this one!

Notre Dame is a fairly conservative campus. However, there are students there who are not Catholic and who are not conservative. They are a small percentage, but yes, they do exist. It’s a fact that ND is one of the most selective and highly ranked universities in the nation. While most students embrace the Catholic Church, one must always realize that there are students there that went to Notre Dame strictly for academics and not for religion. But, they are welcome to be there. Christ never turned anyone away! Christ is love. And we need to think about how Jesus would have conducted himself before casting any judgement on others or personal attacks on another’s alma mater!

I don’t know what else I can say. We’ll have to agree to disagree. I will close with one more statement: The sprituality and love for our Church was strengthened for me at Notre Dame. My experiences were real and by no means “fake”.
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Domer,

You are saddened at some posters for attacking a university, yet you presume that the posters claim to be Catholic? Some question the Catholicity of ND, yet you feel free to question the Catholicity of certain posters?

I never claimed that there was nothing good going on at ND. In fact, I acknowledged this just as there are great things going on at other universities – even secular ones. For example, Texas A&M has produced 68 vocations to the priesthood over the last 10 years. Pretty impressive considering that the student enrollment is hardly a Catholic majority much less a Catholic university. The point is not what is good at ND. Catholic activities going on at a university that claims to be Catholic should not be something to boast about. After all, shouldn’t that be the norm? What should NOT be going on at ND is what is being brought forth here, and with good reason… precisely because the university claims to be Catholic.

In Christ,
Irenaeus
 
Domer1997 said:
Notre Dame allowed the Vagina Monolgues on campus with a discussion of Catholic beliefs on human sexuality.
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I think you were corrected on this one. You also claim that it was only read, whereas someone else claimed that it was in fact ‘performed.’
Let’s not forget, though, that Catholic universities are indeed universities. We must respect dialogue from both sides in order to strengthen our faith and form strong Catholic convictions and beliefs. This builds our faith, and makes it strong, so it can stand through any trial or tribulation.
Click to expand...
Yes, but when presenting opposing and erroneous viewpoints, they need to be presented as opposing and erroneous, not as alternative truths. This is precisely one of the criticisms that the US bishops made regarding McBrien’s book Catholicism. It’s one thing to present opposing and erroneous teachings for the point of educating; it’s quite another to be ambiguous and confusing with regard to which of all the teachings that are being presented is actually the truth.

In Christ,
Irenaeus
 
irenaeus1 said:
Domer,

You are saddened at some posters for attacking a university, yet you presume that the posters claim to be Catholic? Some question the Catholicity of ND, yet you feel free to question the Catholicity of certain posters?

I never claimed that there was nothing good going on at ND. In fact, I acknowledged this just as there are great things going on at other universities – even secular ones. For example, Texas A&M has produced 68 vocations to the priesthood over the last 10 years. Pretty impressive considering that the student enrollment is hardly a Catholic majority much less a Catholic university. The point is not what is good at ND. Catholic activities going on at a university that claims to be Catholic should not be something to boast about. After all, shouldn’t that be the norm? What should NOT be going on at ND is what is being brought forth here, and with good reason… precisely because the university claims to be Catholic.

In Christ,
Irenaeus
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Agreed, Catholic activities at a Catholic university are nothing boastworthy. This is the will of Christ and the Church.
 
Domer1997 said:
ByzCath,
I would assume that they are seeking “real” Catholics versus “cafeteria” Catholics. Please be positive versus negative (you sound a little disgruntled anyway:) ) And, please realize that Fr. Richard McBrien is 1 of 750 faculty members. I had tremendous Catholic mentors teaching me while at Notre Dame (late 90’s). I’m sure most are still around. It wasn’t that long ago. Trust me, the positive highly outweighs the negative at Notre Dame, and I see this endowment by the Keough Family as another major step in the right direction for securing an even stronger Catholic identity in the ranks of the faculty. I hope and pray that other Catholic universities understand the necessity of a strong Catholic faculty and follow ND’s lead.
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Richard McBrien is not just 1 of 750 faculty members he is a Professor of Theology…teaching his brand of Roman Catholicism.
 
True- and he is very, very visible to boot.
I see the rift here as a discussion of the *trappings *of Catholicism- statues, grottos, social groups etc. vs the *substance *of Catholicism, which includes a greater level of respect for the principles of faith than anything else. It is impossible to lay out the entire argument in such a format as this, but let it suffice to say that almost all american educators including our Catholic ones, fail to credit God as the source of all knowlege, wisdom and understanding, and take on a superiority attitude that allows themselves and their graduates to often “live above” the rest of humanity, and- even worse- side-by-side with God. It is appalling what kind of divisiveness that this has produced.
 
We will simply have to agree to disagree.

In Notre Dame Our Mother…
 
I’d say some of the admission processes have to go, ie - taking care of their own.
Yes, it brings in money from the alumni… But it denies some truly worthy students at the chance for an education.
 
Domer1997 said:
We will simply have to agree to disagree.

In Notre Dame Our Mother…
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Are you agreeing or disagreeing that you were wrong about the purpose of the V-monologues being ‘performed’ at the university? Are you agreeing or disagreeing that you were wrong that the discussion afterwards was conducted with the intent to boldly defending the Church’s teaching on human sexuality? Are you agreeing or disagreeing that McBrien has done extensive damage to many people’s Catholic faith, both inside and outside the university.

If I use your criterion for what qualifies as a Catholic university, then is Texas A&M qualified for that descriptor? And no, I am not an A&M alumnus, so no bias here.

In Christ,
Irenaeus
 
Domer,

Notre Dame was dedicated to Our Lady, it is NOT Our Lady. Therefore, it is quite wrong to say “In Notre Dame our Mother,” for Notre Dame is NOT our mother, Our Lady is our Mother.

It would be correct to say “In Our Lady of Notre Dame,” but incorrect to say “In Notre Dame our Mother.” The way you stated it makes Notre Dame an idol…bigtime. I truly pray and hope you know the difference, for if you do not then that would explain a lot.
 
Tom317 and Irenaeus…

You are both obnoxious posters and incredibly insulting. I am not claiming that I am wrong about anything. I know there are problems at Notre Dame. I’m aware of them. There are problems at every parish and school in the world. I said from the beginning that there are a lot of great Catholic happenings at Notre Dame. I know this for a fact because I experienced them, and I will never deny the school of the good they do and the good students that they produce. By the way, there WERE discussions regarding human sexuality after the V-Monologues, and these discussions were based on Catholic teaching. The president himself stated this in his address to the alumni. Did you receive this address? No, because you are not alumni and it was not sent to you. It was sent to me and I read it thoroughly. Fr. Jenkins would not lie to the alumni.

And of course I know the University of Notre Dame is not the Virgin Mother of God! Do you take me for a fool! I am well educated! “Notre Dame Our Mother” is a portion of the Notre Dame alma mater and is not being referenced to the actual school but to the Blessed Mother. It is no different then saying “Our Lady…Our Mother”. It’s a mixture of two different languages. Is that okay with you? Or, are you the language police now as well.

I hope the Holy Spirit can enlighten both of your insulting and degrading minds.
 
It’s a crying shame that Catholics cannot discuss the Catholic faculty at Notre Dame without resorting to name calling and personal insults, thereby necessitating the closing of this otherwise good discussion. Some of you need to do a charity check before hitting the “Submit” button.

Walt
 
I had considered editing and reopening this thread but, upon further review, it appears that the personal attacks of one kind or another go back to near the beginning.

This thread will remain closed. A new thread may be opened if any of you want to continue the discussion in a charitable manner.

Just a few reminders.
Do not question the faith of another.
Controversial allegations must contain a link to source material.
No personal attacks of any kind.
Stick to the topic of the thread, which is not other posters.

Thanks for your cooperation and understanding.

Walt Oliver
 
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