Fr. Robert Barron hosting a special screening of "Catholicism" at NOTRE DAME

[Verbum_Caro]

Just thought some might find it of interest:

newsinfo.nd.edu/news/27229-no…-and-heritage/

He will also be the keynote speaker at a conference at Notre Dame:

[sites.google.com/a/nd.edu/the-notre-dame-center-for-ethics-and-culture/programs/fall-conferences/radical-emancipation-ma(name removed by moderator)age/radical-emancipation-program](Sign in - Google Accounts(name removed by moderator)age/radical-emancipation-program)

VC

 

[Scoobyshme]

Well, I’m kind of surprised that Notre Dame would allow a faithful priest on campus to address the students. But I guess if an organization is truly heterodox, then some of the good guys can slip in, too. Maybe they’re trying to pad the facade that they’re a faithful Catholic organization to those who don’t pay close enough attention.

 

[Verbum_Caro]

Do you allege that all priests on campus are unfaithful? Do you allege that Notre Dame doesn’t invite faithful priests?

The University has bad P.R., that is for sure. But, if you dig a little deeper, alongside some very bad (and public) occurrences there, one can find a robust faith.

VC

 

[Verbum_Caro]

Just thought some might find it of interest:

newsinfo.nd.edu/news/27229-notre-dame-to-host-screening-of-documentary-of-catholic-history-and-heritage/

OOPS! I checked the second link, but the first one was wrong. I’ve corrected it. If a moderator happens to see this, perhaps they can save me from myself.

VC

 

[Contarini]

Well, I’m kind of surprised that Notre Dame would allow a faithful priest on campus to address the students. But I guess if an organization is truly heterodox, then some of the good guys can slip in, too. Maybe they’re trying to pad the facade that they’re a faithful Catholic organization to those who don’t pay close enough attention.

Or perhaps you have been listening to slander about Notre Dame and simply don’t understand that fine institution at all?

Notre Dame is a splendid example of a religious educational institution precisely in the breadth of perspectives it allows for. I have heard liberal academics bemoan ND’s Catholic commitment and say that it was going down the drain as an educational institution. And on this forum I hear right-wing Catholics say it isn’t really Catholic at all. To me that says that ND is getting a lot of things right: one of which is inviting Fr. Barron to campus (a theologian whose work I find very interesting–I wish I could make it to this conference).

Edwin

 

[Scoobyshme]

Or perhaps you have been listening to slander about Notre Dame and simply don’t understand that fine institution at all?

Notre Dame is a splendid example of a religious educational institution precisely in the breadth of perspectives it allows for. I have heard liberal academics bemoan ND’s Catholic commitment and say that it was going down the drain as an educational institution. And on this forum I hear right-wing Catholics say it isn’t really Catholic at all. To me that says that ND is getting a lot of things right: one of which is inviting Fr. Barron to campus (a theologian whose work I find very interesting–I wish I could make it to this conference).

Edwin

Edwin,

Do you consider a university that claims to be Catholic but invites the most adamant supporter of "legalized" abortion to speak and to receive an AWARD from the university to be faithful to its Catholic charter?  I don't.

A "splendid religious educational institution" would remain faithful to the teachings of it's Church, not the teachings of the world.  

Consider this...  If I gave you a glass of sewerage, with a spoonful of the finest wine mixed in it, would you drink it?  No! Why?  Because its all just a glass of sewerage now!

Similarly, if I gave you a glass of the finest wine, with a spoonful of sewerage mixed in, would you drink that?  Same answer, NO!  Why?  Same reason.  Because it's all just a glass of sewerage now!

 We can never do evil in order to try to bring about a greater good.  We must always remain faithful to the good.

 

[Domer1997]

Well, I’m kind of surprised that Notre Dame would allow a faithful priest on campus to address the students. But I guess if an organization is truly heterodox, then some of the good guys can slip in, too. Maybe they’re trying to pad the facade that they’re a faithful Catholic organization to those who don’t pay close enough attention.

I agree 100% with Edwin. With all do respect Scooby, as an alumnus it saddens me that many know so little about Notre Dame. With a little research, one would see the bastion of Catholicism pouring out every corner of the university…more than I can say about most Catholic universities (sadly).

Archbisop Chaput spoke there last year, and Fr. Frank Pavone two years prior to that. Not to mention that the Holy Cross Fathers are generally very orthodox men. Remember, McBrien in NOT Holy Cross

 

[Domer1997]

Edwin,

Do you consider a university that claims to be Catholic but invites the most adamant supporter of "legalized" abortion to speak and to receive an AWARD from the university to be faithful to its Catholic charter?  I don't.

A "splendid religious educational institution" would remain faithful to the teachings of it's Church, not the teachings of the world.  

Consider this...  If I gave you a glass of sewerage, with a spoonful of the finest wine mixed in it, would you drink it?  No! Why?  Because its all just a glass of sewerage now!

Similarly, if I gave you a glass of the finest wine, with a spoonful of sewerage mixed in, would you drink that?  Same answer, NO!  Why?  Same reason.  Because it's all just a glass of sewerage now!

 We can never do evil in order to try to bring about a greater good.  We must always remain faithful to the good.

Scooby,
One more thing. The “sewage” analogy makes no sense. Because we are all human, and we sin, every parish, Catholic School, Catholic Charity, Convent, Monestary, etc…etc…etc…has sin involved. Are they all sewage now? Do we throw them all out? I think not. And, I don’t think Catholic universities are any different. We certainly do not throw them out. Didn’t Christ forgive? Aren’t we to pattern our lives after the actions of Christ and find the good in others and help to erase the sin of our neighbors versus just throw random rocks at them? Pagans throw rocks, Christians throw prayers their way

Remember: “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”

 

[quiet52]

So has anyone seen any of Fr. Barron’s “Catholicism” DVDs?

 

[Joannm]

I agree 100% with Edwin. With all do respect Scooby, as an alumnus it saddens me that many know so little about Notre Dame. With a little research, one would see the bastion of Catholicism pouring out every corner of the university…more than I can say about most Catholic universities (sadly).

Archbisop Chaput spoke there last year, and Fr. Frank Pavone two years prior to that. Not to mention that the Holy Cross Fathers are generally very orthodox men. Remember, McBrien in NOT Holy Cross

I too am a Notre Dame alum with a degree in Theology/Liturgical Studies. I am a pretty conservative person and I found the teachers, even the ones that were not Catholic, very orthodox in both their understanding and teaching of the faith. There is not one place on campus where you do not see evidence that it is truly a Catholic institution. It is well known for research in religion. By the way, the Dominican Sisters on Ann Arbor send their sisters there for their education degrees. They also have a great program to train young people to be catechetical leaders doing intern work while earning their MAs. The same with Catholic School teachers. The basilica is an amazingly beautiful church and every single dorm and many of the other buildings have chapels. There are at least five masses a day, probably more. There is a priest chaplain for every dorm. The confession lines are always long and the participation at Mass is the envy of any other Catholic church I have ever been in.

Besides they have the best band in the land and the football team is making an amazing comeback thanks to Brian Kelly. GO IRISH beat BC in the annual clash of the Catholic Schools.

 

[Domer1997]

I too am a Notre Dame alum with a degree in Theology/Liturgical Studies. I am a pretty conservative person and I found the teachers, even the ones that were not Catholic, very orthodox in both their understanding and teaching of the faith. There is not one place on campus where you do not see evidence that it is truly a Catholic institution. It is well known for research in religion. By the way, the Dominican Sisters on Ann Arbor send their sisters there for their education degrees. They also have a great program to train young people to be catechetical leaders doing intern work while earning their MAs. The same with Catholic School teachers. The basilica is an amazingly beautiful church and every single dorm and many of the other buildings have chapels. There are at least five masses a day, probably more. There is a priest chaplain for every dorm. The confession lines are always long and the participation at Mass is the envy of any other Catholic church I have ever been in.

Besides they have the best band in the land and the football team is making an amazing comeback thanks to Brian Kelly. GO IRISH beat BC in the annual clash of the Catholic Schools.

Lol…actually there are about 25 - 30 Masses a day. Almost all the dorms have a daily Mass now. All the men’s dorms do, and some women’s dorms do also. GO IRISH BEAT BC!

 

[Joannm]

Lol…actually there are about 25 - 30 Masses a day. Almost all the dorms have a daily Mass now. All the men’s dorms do, and some women’s dorms do also. GO IRISH BEAT BC!

I only studied during summer sessions when they really didn’t have daily masses in the dorms.

 

[JRRTFAN]

Do you allege that all priests on campus are unfaithful? Do you allege that Notre Dame doesn’t invite faithful priests?

The University has bad P.R., that is for sure. But, if you dig a little deeper, alongside some very bad (and public) occurrences there, one can find a robust faith.

VC

I work with a young fellow who played for the Fighting Irish. He tells me you need a back hoe to dig. (Although he reveres Fr. Hessberg).

 

[Verbum_Caro]

I work with a young fellow who played for the Fighting Irish. He tells me you need a back hoe to dig. (Although he reveres Fr. Hessberg).

Well, you know, even backhoe operators have to know where to dig, and know what they are looking for. And. . . perhaps this was years ago?

Let’s put it this way, It think you really have to not want to see vibrant, orthodox Catholicism at Notre Dame in order to miss it if you look for it.

So, was he digging in the right place? At the right time?

One possible approach would be to go to one of the Eucharistic Processions, wait until the procession is over, then introduce oneself to any of those people there.

VC

 

[JRRTFAN]

Well, you know, even backhoe operators have to know where to dig, and know what they are looking for. And. . . perhaps this was years ago?

Let’s put it this way, It think you really have to not want to see vibrant, orthodox Catholicism at Notre Dame in order to miss it if you look for it.

So, was he digging in the right place? At the right time?

One possible approach would be to go to one of the Eucharistic Processions, wait until the procession is over, then introduce oneself to any of those people there.

VC

Perhaps it was years ago, he’s 30., his final season was 2004. Maybe a lot has changed at Notre Dame du Lac since then? Ya think? I think anybody who thinks so is living in lala land, but if it makes you happy, COOL! The Obamatrocity at ND is an example of the piety of the place.

 

[Verbum_Caro]

JRRTFAN,

It’s just hard to argue with facts. If you take a look at the various student groups, activities, publications, events, speakers, liturgies, centers, etc. – not to mention the students in the Theology Department, not to mention some top notch and orthodox faculty members – you get the impression that there are a lot of hard-core Catholics there.

That is what I base my opinion on. I know you have anecdotal evidence from your friend, and the horribly misguided incident involving President Obama . . . do you base it on anything else? Notre Dame has horrible PR. . . and has a bunch of rough spots. . . but also has a lot going for it. It isn’t accurate, in my opinion, to paint the school as a bastion of liberal Catholicism.

VC

 

[dixieagle]

I too am a Notre Dame alum with a degree in Theology/Liturgical Studies. I am a pretty conservative person and I found the teachers, even the ones that were not Catholic, very orthodox in both their understanding and teaching of the faith. There is not one place on campus where you do not see evidence that it is truly a Catholic institution. It is well known for research in religion. By the way, the Dominican Sisters on Ann Arbor send their sisters there for their education degrees. They also have a great program to train young people to be catechetical leaders doing intern work while earning their MAs. The same with Catholic School teachers. The basilica is an amazingly beautiful church and every single dorm and many of the other buildings have chapels. There are at least five masses a day, probably more. There is a priest chaplain for every dorm. The confession lines are always long and the participation at Mass is the envy of any other Catholic church I have ever been in.

Besides they have the best band in the land and the football team is making an amazing comeback thanks to Brian Kelly. GO IRISH beat BC in the annual clash of the Catholic Schools.

Sadly, it doesn’t take much these days to beat BC, so it won’t be much of an accomplishment. I long for those not-too-distant days when we beat you regularly. Perhaps our administration will soon come to their senses and clean house from top to bottom in the football program. But don’t get me started…

We know many fine, very orthodox Catholic families who have had multiple children graduate from N.D., all of whom are still practicing Catholics. I think there has been a turnaround in the last few years, due to the outcry from alums and supporters. Wish I could say the same about B.C.

 

[JRRTFAN]

JRRTFAN,

It’s just hard to argue with facts. If you take a look at the various student groups, activities, publications, events, speakers, liturgies, centers, etc. – not to mention the students in the Theology Department, not to mention some top notch and orthodox faculty members – you get the impression that there are a lot of hard-core Catholics there.

That is what I base my opinion on. I know you have anecdotal evidence from your friend, and the horribly misguided incident involving President Obama . . . do you base it on anything else? Notre Dame has horrible PR. . . and has a bunch of rough spots. . . but also has a lot going for it. It isn’t accurate, in my opinion, to paint the school as a bastion of liberal Catholicism.

VC

Notre Dame does have a lot going for it. It’s not as secular as Harvard and it’s a fine acedemic institution. I simply question its orthodoxy. Bad PR did not bring President Obama there. And how about this little coterie? ucc.nd.edu/self-help/gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgender-questioning-issues/

 

[Verbum_Caro]

Notre Dame does have a lot going for it. It’s not as secular as Harvard and it’s a fine acedemic institution. I simply question its orthodoxy. Bad PR did not bring President Obama there. And how about this little coterie? ucc.nd.edu/self-help/gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgender-questioning-issues/

You are right, it was bad choices, not PR that brought Obama there.

The thing about Notre Dame is that it is a huge institution. There is good and bad in it. And, make no mistake, it is a battleground. But in this sense it is not unlike the Church as a whole (without, of course, the promise of Divine protection).

I don’t know anything about the “gender issues” thing you mentioned. I do see that it is in a long list of other difficulties a student might face. I imagine some students at other Catholic colleges might face similar difficulties, and are counseled by the school.

As far as I can tell, Notre Dame has a top notch theology program, and good teachers in it, and committed and orthodox students in theology for the large part.

That is a funny thing . . . I think the theology department is attracting devout Catholics. And it is somewhat self-filtering because you really want to study theology if you go into it at Notre Dame because a) you got into a great academic school and b) it costs a lot of money and c) there are many other excellent academic programs to choose from. Those people who really want to study theology often turn out, I’m guessing here, to be quite devout.

And what I mean about bad PR is that . . . usually I only see faithful Catholics talking about the bad parts of Notre Dame, not the good (like the Theology Dept). Other schools are the reverse of this: Good PR, where faithful Catholics talk about only the good parts of a school (say, Franciscan University or Ave Maria University) and ignore the bad parts.

I also try to remember that Notre Dame is a pretty hefty weight class, and that might need to be factored into our evaluation.

VC

 

[JRRTFAN]

You are right, it was bad choices, not PR that brought Obama there.

The thing about Notre Dame is that it is a huge institution. There is good and bad in it. And, make no mistake, it is a battleground. But in this sense it is not unlike the Church as a whole (without, of course, the promise of Divine protection).

I don’t know anything about the “gender issues” thing you mentioned. I do see that it is in a long list of other difficulties a student might face. I imagine some students at other Catholic colleges might face similar difficulties, and are counseled by the school.

As far as I can tell, Notre Dame has a top notch theology program, and good teachers in it, and committed and orthodox students in theology for the large part.

That is a funny thing . . . I think the theology department is attracting devout Catholics. And it is somewhat self-filtering because you really want to study theology if you go into it at Notre Dame because a) you got into a great academic school and b) it costs a lot of money and c) there are many other excellent academic programs to choose from. Those people who really want to study theology often turn out, I’m guessing here, to be quite devout.

And what I mean about bad PR is that . . . usually I only see faithful Catholics talking about the bad parts of Notre Dame, not the good (like the Theology Dept). Other schools are the reverse of this: Good PR, where faithful Catholics talk about only the good parts of a school (say, Franciscan University or Ave Maria University) and ignore the bad parts.

I also try to remember that Notre Dame is a pretty hefty weight class, and that might need to be factored into our evaluation.

VC

I am not prepared to comment on its Theology program except to the extent that Rev. Richard McBrien is tenured there and he does not do much for me.