'Scandal': Abortion radical's appointment at University of Notre Dame has local Catholic bishop outraged

The University of Notre Dame in Indiana announced last month that pro-abortion radical Susan Ostermann had been appointed director of the school's Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies.

This appointment — reportedly made by Keough School of Global Affairs dean Mary Gallagher and approved by Notre Dame provost John McGreevy — has enraged those members and supporters of the university under the impression that the institution is still Catholic.

Despite significant backlash and resignations by some esteemed scholars, the university dug in its heels, refusing to reverse course. It may come to regret doing so sooner rather than later.

Leaning into his apostolic responsibility to protect and strengthen the school's Catholic identity, Bishop Kevin Rhoades of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend made abundantly clear on Wednesday that Ostermann's abortion advocacy is disqualifying.

"I must express my dismay and my strong opposition to this appointment that is causing scandal to the faithful of our diocese and beyond," the bishop said in a lengthy jeremiad. "Professor Ostermann's extensive public advocacy of abortion rights and her disparaging and inflammatory remarks about those who uphold the dignity of human life from the moment of conception to natural death go against a core principle of justice that is central to Notre Dame's Catholic identity and mission."

Bishop Rhoades noted that Ostermann, an associate professor of global affairs at the university, has repeatedly attacked the pro-life movement and defended the slaughter of the unborn "using outrageous rhetoric."

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Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

In a December 2022 article that she co-authored with ex-Notre Dame professor Tamara Kay, Ostermann claimed:

• "Criminalizing abortion results in irreparable harm";
• It is a "lie" that "abortion kills babies";
• "There are no babies or fetuses" present during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, evidently discounting all the scientific evidence to the contrary;
• Abortion is not dangerous, evidently discounting the perspective of the unborn baby; and
• Abortion "doesn't affect future fertility."

In a July 2022 article she also co-authored with Kay, Ostermann claimed that white supremacy was one of the primary motivations behind the abortion abolition movement in the U.S., neglecting to mention how America's abortion regime was largely driven by racist eugenicists like Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger.

'These are all outrageous claims that should disqualify her.'

In a May 2022 article, the radical duo characterized pregnancy and childbirth without the option of abortion as "violence," "sexual abuse," and "trauma," and abortion, alternatively, as "freedom-enhancing, in the truest sense of the word."

Among her numerous other abortion propaganda pieces is an article claiming that a ban of the abortion pill mifepristone would "violate human rights" as well as an article attacking pro-life pregnancy centers.

'Rectify this situation.'

"These are all outrageous claims that should disqualify her from an administrative and leadership role at a Catholic university," the bishop wrote.

Bishop Rhoades also denounced the radical appointee's affiliation with the Population Council, an outfit that works to enshrine pro-abortion policies around the world.

"I hope that Professor Ostermann will explicitly retract these claims, and I pray that she will have a change of mind and heart that will lead her to affirm the innate dignity of unborn babies as well as that of their mothers."

After citing the late Pope Francis' assertion that it is a "false compassion which holds that it is a benefit to women to promote abortion," Pope Leo XIV's recent reminder that "the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion," and reiterating the Catholic Church's unchanging defense of "the inalienable right to life of mothers and their unborn children," the bishop underscored that "Professor Ostermann's opposite view thus clearly should disqualify her from holding a position of leadership within the Keough School."

The position publicly championed by Ostermann is at odds with the university's official position:

Consistent with the teaching of the Catholic Church on such issues as abortion, research involving human embryos, euthanasia, the death penalty, and other related life issues, the University of Notre Dame recognizes and upholds the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death.

In his message, the bishop — whose diocesan territory includes the university — noted both that such "appointments have profound impact on the integrity of Notre Dame's public witness as a Catholic university" and that the university has until July 1, when Ostermann's appointment is scheduled to go into effect, to "rectify this situation."

The decision to cancel the appointment reportedly rests with the six Holy Cross priests and six laypeople on the university's Board of Fellows.

'Going ahead with this appointment is repugnant.'

Holy Cross Father Wilson Miscamble, a professor emeritus of history at Notre Dame, recently noted in First Things that the board has a "fiduciary responsibility to maintain the university's 'character as a Catholic institution of higher learning.'"

A university spokesperson told the Irish Rover that the university had yet to change its position as of Feb. 8.

The Catholic Observer reported that if a bishop determines that a Catholic university is failing to faithfully execute its mission, he can issue a formal warning, bar the celebration of Mass at the institution, and forbid the school from identifying as Catholic. He can reportedly also seek an intervention by the Vatican.

Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, the newly retired Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila, and Bishop Michael Olson of the Diocese of Forth Worth thanked Bishop Rhoades for speaking out.

Bishop Barron noted that "going ahead with this appointment is repugnant to the identity and mission of that great center of Catholic learning."

Ostermann told the National Catholic Register late last month that she is "fully committed to maintaining an environment of academic freedom where a plurality of voices can flourish."

"While I hold my own convictions on complex social and legal issues," the pro-abortion radical continued, "I want to be clear: My role is to support the diverse research of our scholars and students, not to advance a personal political agenda."

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