Of "Rice" and (Real) Men: What [the hell] Happened to Notre Dame?

Fighting Irish Thomas ^ | 8-11-10 | Tom O'Toole

[mlizzy]

"The University is where the Church does its thinking" --former president of Notre Dame, Fr. Theodore M. Hesburgh.

"The Catholic university today must be a university in the full modern sense of the word...[it] must have a true autonomy and academic freedom in the face of authority of any kind, lay or clerical, external to the academic community itself" --from the 1967 "Land O'Lakes Statement," sponsored and co-written by Fr. Hesburgh, which severed Notre Dame and many Catholic universities' juridical ties with the Church.

"The fundamental dogma of the Enlightenment is that man must overcome the prejudices inherited from tradition;...free himself from every authority in order to think on his own, using nothing but his own reason...Truth is no longer an objective datum, apparent to...everyone...It...becomes merely external, which each one grasps from his own point of view [until] the same truth about the good becomes unattainable" --from the 1991 "Address to the Consistory of College of Cardinals" by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI.

Charles E. Rice's What Happened to Notre Dame? (St. Augustine's Press: South Bend, 2009), is not only a pull-no-punches account of the Notre Dame-Obama fiasco, but a precise retelling of the University's gradual descent into relativism that made their dubious decision to honor and reward the "Abortion President," which shocked the bishops and enraged the faithful, almost inevitable. And yet, the true beauty of this book is that, as deep as the descent (and dissent) may be, the author of the book, as well as the writers of the rousing Appendix and insightful Introduction, all believe that it's not too late for Notre Dame to humble itself before Our Lord, and rise again to its rightful place as our country's "flagship" University.

The aforementioned Introduction, written by Rice's colleague, associate professor of philosophy at Notre Dame, Alfred J. Freddoso, is a powerful pamphlet (or shall we say "tract"?) in and of itself. In it, Freddoso compares Notre Dame's current Catholicism to that of a "public school in a Catholic neighborhood," a "Purdue with a Golden Dome" if you will. In other words, "the university's sacramental life," along with "the statue of Our Lady atop the Golden Dome, the Sacred Heart Basilica, the Grotto, 'Touchdown Jesus' and scores of other statues is...[where] virtually all of a student's moral and spiritual formation, if any, will take place." This is because that, although there are more professors at Notre Dame than the average "national private university" who can "provide a student...something resembling a Catholic education," Freddoso reveals that "Most faculty members would...be deeply disturbed by the prospect of having doctrinally orthodox Catholicism intrude itself into the classroom" (pg.xiii). But just when the dedicated but pragmatic professor says he "had long ago given up trying to 'save' Notre Dame," something "not possible in the 80s," a group of "JP2 students" who were "sort of, well, holy" appears to have changed his mind about ND's future salvation.

Meanwhile, Rice, Professor Emeritus of Law at Notre Dame, as well as a former Marine, reports thoroughly and honestly on the intelligence history of the war on othodoxy at Our Lady's University, as well as providing a detailed battle plan for victory. For example, Rice (citing a report by St. Louis University professor, Donald T. Critchlow) shows how the Land O'Lakes Statement, which looking back could accurately be called Notre Dame's "Declaration of Independence" from Rome, was actually preceded by a series of annual meetings on "population problems" held at Notre Dame from 1963 to 1967. These meetings, sponsored by the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations (both of whom would later donate big bucks to Notre Dame's endowment) were held in "quasi-secrecy" because "only liberal Catholic clergy and academics were invited." They, along with groups like Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Population Council, met to "create an oppositional voice within the Catholic Church on family planning," and "in 1965 these thirty-seven scholars released a statement...to the Vatican...urging the pope to reverse the church's opposition to artificial contraception" (pg. 45). "In turn, Father Hesburgh, while sincere in his desire to explore the family planning and population issue, realized that association with the established foundation community could only benefit his university by imparting a certain respectability that comes from associating with eastern philanthropic foundations." In a nutshell, these associations, along with the prestige (and money) they brought, go a long way to explaining not only Notre Dame's subsequent history of hiring Catholic imposters like Fr. McBrien instead of more real Notre Dame men like Rice or Freddoso, but its continual honoring of pro-abortion politicians like Mario Cuomo (1984), Patrick Moynihan (1992), and finally Obama.

In the end, Rice concludes that, despite Father Ted's good intentions, the Hesburgh inspired "Land O'Lakes Statement" has created "an alternative magisterium" at Notre Dame (and other LOL Catholic colleges) and must be abandoned ASAP in favor of Ex Corde Ecclesiae (the Vatican's 1990 directive on Catholic universities) and the real magisterium. Otherwise, according to Fr. James Burtchaell, C.S.C., it will follow in the footsteps of Protestant universities such as Vanderbilt (or Catholic universities such as St. Mary's College in California) where "the estrangement from the sponsoring church came...when new secular sources were offering funds" (pg. 51). Rice, like Freddoso, also draws hope from ND Response, the John Paul II inspired students who stood up to Notre Dame's president, Father Jenkins, and President Obama, by holding a prayerful protest and an alternative "Grotto Graduation." Indeed, not only is Fr. Wilson Miscamble's address to the "troops of Truth" on May 17, 2009 (which Rice has included in its entirety as an Appendix),  enough to rouse the dead, but after hearing this loyal Holy Cross priest declare, "While the administration and many of the faculty sold out for the photo-ops, YOU held firm to the foundational principles of respect for life...and showed the benefits of YOUR Notre Dame education," it is easy to believe not only that "this painful episode..IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY!" (pg.159), but that the tide may actually be turning.

As an obviously interested observer and fellow journalist of the Notre Dame loss of faith saga, there are a few points I would like to make in addition to my offering the book my utmost praise. First, while I believe Freddoso's analogy of Notre Dame as a public school in a Catholic neighborhood is essentially correct, I would like to add that (perhaps to the dismay of the not-so-Catholic faculty) the presence of the Eucharist, in the form of both the liturgy and adoration, should (in conjunction with the devotion the Grotto and statues inspire) by definition be enough to sustain the hardcore Catholicism at Notre Dame during times of intellectual (and sometimes physical) persecution.

Also, although Professor Rice totally destroys the liberal policies of Fr. Hesburgh and disproves any possibility of both Land O'Lakes and a Catholic Notre Dame together surviving, Rice, in addition, states that, despite my "explicit and strong disagreements with Fr. Hesburgh...I very highly respect [him]. In the four decades I have been at Notre Dame, I have seen numerous examples of his integrity and kindness...please do not interpret criticisms of...actions or policies as personal disparagements of him." This stance, then, is surely "hate the sin but love the sinner" to an almost saintly degree. For when Rice states, "What a mistake, and what a needless one, for Notre Dame, over the past four decades, to renounce obedience to that source of Truth and of Hope. And what a missed opportunity to introduce students and so many others to that inspiring truth..." (pg. 142), certainly Rice realizes that Hesburgh, as this "mistake's" architect, must be in some part responsible for the lack of Truth and loss of Hope these students suffered because of it. Which can only mean that Charlie Rice must also pray a great deal so that his now, nearly-blind friend, not only sees his mistake before he meets his Maker, but takes whatever steps a 93-year-old former president can still take to correct it.

[mlizzy]

So ... Planned Parenthood was involved ... I did not previously know that ...

They, along with groups like Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Population Council, met to "create an oppositional voice within the Catholic Church on family planning," and "in 1965 these thirty-seven scholars released a statement...to the Vatican...urging the pope to reverse the church's opposition to artificial contraception" (pg. 45).

[ILS21R]

Notre Dame had better get its act together. And quick.

[mlizzy]

Notre Dame had better get its act together. And quick.

You are correct! If you can help out with prayer for the University, that would be great.

Suffering Irish

[mick]

Yes. Look up E. Michael Jones, Editor of Culture Wars magazine. He has been writing about this for years...and fully documents the case that PP and the Rockefeller Found. were instrumental in moving ND to the left. A sad but true tale.

[Alex Murphy]

a precise retelling of the University's gradual descent into relativism that made their dubious decision to honor and reward the "Abortion President," which shocked the bishops and enraged the faithful, almost inevitable

Now that "counting the bishops" has become a factor in determining the direction of the Church, it will be necessary to count those who do not speak. Or, at least, it is important to consider the meaning in the silence of those bishops. The 2008 election did produce one episode that suggests what the silence means for some bishops....

....In other words, there were bishops in the 2008 election who purposely did not speak out, and who did not agree with those who did. Their silence implied consent to the way Catholic teaching was being construed by Obama supporters like Doug Kmiec and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.

What does this tell us about the silence of the remaining bishops on the upcoming commencement at Notre Dame? Certainly there are those who agree with the 68 who have gone on the record against his selection. Perhaps they think the issue has been sufficiently flogged, especially with the public statement by USCCB President Francis Cardinal George.

But how many simply disagree with those bishops and think Notre Dame is doing the right thing by honoring President Obama? Is this the meaning of their silence? Do the majority of U.S. bishops agree with Notre Dame? If so, that may well be one of the reasons Notre Dame's officials felt free to issue the invitation in the first place.
-- from the thread The Bishops Who Speak... And Those Who Don't

[mlizzy]

Thank you! Sad but true is right. I'll have to ask the author if he knew about PP's involvement previous to reading Rice's book, because he does know E. Michael Jones/had an article published in May in Culture Wars.

[bronx2]

Ted's actions not only perverted N.D. but also many Jesuit universities. I sent my children to state universities as not to expose them to this apostasy. The unique character of N.D is forever lost, sold for the price of an endowment. His order, should withdraw from the university and disband. Hopefully the order is not receiving any new candidates so it can exist no more.

It will be interesting to read how future historians treat Ted and his Land Of the Lakes agreement. I think that in time Ted will become the Benedict Arnold or Judas Iscariot of the U.S. Catholic church.History will not be kind to this traitor.

[Godwin1]

Notre Dame is finished as a Catholic institution. The presentation of an honorary law degree to one of the most relentlessly pro abortion politicians in American history, to the applause of the Notre Dame student body, was the coup de grace. Notre Dame is now nothing more than a Duke with bad weather. With one difference: Duke does not pretend to be a Christian institution, while Notre Dame, living on its past reputation, pretends to be a community of believers. Parents concerned with their children's souls will avoid faux Catholic institutions like Georgetown, Notre Dame and Boston College. A state institution with an active Newman club is a much better bet. As are a handful of smaller Catholic institutions that have kept the faith: Franciscan Unuversity in Steubenville is one. There are others.

[lastchance]

“These meetings, sponsored by the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations (both of whom would later donate big bucks to Notre Dame’s endowment)”

Aha Watson!! A clue!!!

[vpintheak]

Perverse lefties and soft sissified men took over. Explains them and America in a nut shell.

[RobbyS]

The transformation of the NCCB into a political body in the late ‘60s was a bad move.

[fightingirishthomas]

Perverse lefties and soft sissified men took over. Explains them and America in a nut shell.

Is sissified a word? If not, it should be ... certainly describes Jenkins and friends.

[fightingirishthomas]

There are many good Holy Cross priests, so I do not believe the order is lost. But we need a holy CSC at ND ASAP!

[vpintheak]

Definitions of sissified on the Web:

effeminate: having unsuitable feminine qualities
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Describes most democrat men to a “T”!

[sitetest]

Old joke from the Hesburgh years:

What’s the difference between Fr. Hesburgh and God?

God is everywhere.

Fr. Hesburgh is everywhere... but Notre Dame.