Posted on 05/19/2009 12:06:06 PM PDT by Lorianne
Organizers of a group asking alumni and donors to withhold donations to the University of Notre Dame following its controversial commencement invitation to President Barack Obama claim to have confirmed nearly $14 million in donations have been withheld by those concerned about the university’s Catholic identity.
The group, ReplaceJenkins.com, said it had received over 1,400 pledges from alumni and donors promising to withhold future donations.
ReplaceJenkins.com was launched by alumni and financial supporters of the university who said they would withhold their contributions until Rev. Jenkins is replaced by someone who "is committed to the authentic identity of Notre Dame, grounded in the teachings of the Catholic Church."
Group spokesman David DiFranco, a 1995 graduate of Notre Dame, said the donors were "at least loosely aware" of what he called the university’s "trend away from its Catholic identity."
"But the invitation of President Obama to speak and to receive an honorary degree, combined with the weak responses presented by Father Jenkins as a defense to those who have criticized the decision, is what drives most alumni to our site," he said.
Fr. Jenkins’ action brought national attention to a problem "decades in the making," DiFranco said.
"A shrinking percentage of Catholic faculty and the efforts of secular-minded board members has long been eroding the Catholic heritage and foundation that makes Notre Dame great. President Obama’s invitation represents the culminating scandal in this trend."
DiFranco said nearly all alumni who had contacted ReplaceJenkins.com had already decided to cease supporting the school.
"Our website merely tallies the sum of their collective decision," he
Worked great at my sons’ Alma Mater, The College
of William and Mary. The president, buffoon, Gene Nichols
was replaced.
Better yet, send the money directly to the Miami Hurricanes football boosters!
Henry VIII was more conservative than John Calvin. You think that made a difference IAC. Notre Dame PRETENDED to be far more Catholic than it is. The mask has been ripped off.
It was probably a lot different before Vatican II.
Out of curiosity ... does that number reflect an annual sum ... or a projected, over a certain span of years?
“But seriously, what University are these people going to support now?”
How about any of the 21 authentic Catholic colleges featured in the Newman Guide? (http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/)
They follow Ex Corde Ecclesiae.
IIRC ... didn’t they uninvite Clinton not too long ago?
So if Catholics run a lemonade stand, that makes it a Catholic Lemonade Stand.
Semantics.
There are truly Catholic Universities that are rigorous concerning Catholic doctrine IN THEIR STUDENTS. Notre Dame was never one of those. Additionally, the Catholic heirarchy seemed powerless to stop Obama’s appearance, so I don’t understand to what extent ND can be termed a Catholic University.
I believe that God forgives those who seek forgivness...those who don’t get $14 million in donations withheld from them. :)
Either way, I gotta say it couldn’t happen to better hypocrits.
I think THAT'S the plan .... this thing didn't 'just happen' .
I’ve been there, many times, and on the surface, at least, it is a profoundly Catholic place. Crucifixes everywhere, Holy Cross priests living in all of the dorms, and chapels in every single dorm.
Universities, by default, are liberal places, and Notre Dame is no exception. It was never as bad as the Jesuit schools, by hey- that’s a pretty low standard. I think Fr. Hesburgh is the guy who pushed the flaming liberalism of today to the school. His main interests were (are) social and economic justice, to the exclusion of many other aspects of Christianity. Too focused on the trees and missing sight of the entire forest.
This Obama invitation had Hesburgh’s mark all over it, IMO. He and Jenkins sat down and did it, IMO, without input from any one else.
I have said in the past, to many folks, that Notre Dame is a profoundly Catholic place. I did not go there, but did send my daughter there. That’s why this decision hurt so many people- because more was expected of Notre Dame than a Jesuit school, like Georgetown, for instance.
I think now I’d use the line I’ve seen others use- “it’s a school in the Catholic tradition.” Meaning not quite all the way Catholic.
Ave Maria, Franciscan, St. Thomas Aquinas. Orthodox Catholic schools, all.
If Notre Dame had any integrity, it would adopt the funding philosophy of Hillsdale College.
God Bless all Notre Dame Alums who never again donate to that school (unless there is a 180 degree change on this issue and it's fully denounced). I did the same when my school hosted an Obama supporter. Donations to my school? from me? Never again.
Hooray! Why anyone would donate a penny to ANY college or University I will never understand.
I think you're confusing "Catholic University" with "Seminary." A Catholic University doesn't exist merely to indoctrinate students to Catholicism. They aren't simply Christian versions of radical Islam's madrassahs.
From the University's mission statement:
The University of Notre Dame is a Catholic academic community of higher learning, animated from its origins by the Congregation of Holy Cross. The University is dedicated to the pursuit and sharing of truth for its own sake. As a Catholic university, one of its distinctive goals is to provide a forum where, through free inquiry and open discussion, the various lines of Catholic thought may intersect with all the forms of knowledge found in the arts, sciences, professions, and every other area of human scholarship and creativity.
The intellectual interchange essential to a university requires, and is enriched by, the presence and voices of diverse scholars and students. The Catholic identity of the University depends upon, and is nurtured by, the continuing presence of a predominant number of Catholic intellectuals. This ideal has been consistently maintained by the University leadership throughout its history. What the University asks of all its scholars and students, however, is not a particular creedal affiliation, but a respect for the objectives of Notre Dame and a willingness to enter into the conversation that gives it life and character. Therefore, the University insists upon academic freedom that makes open discussion and inquiry possible.
[...]
The University encourages a way of living consonant with a Christian community and manifest in prayer, liturgy and service. Residential life endeavors to develop that sense of community and of responsibility that prepares students for subsequent leadership in building a society that is at once more human and more divine.
Notre Dame's character as a Catholic academic community presupposes that no genuine search for the truth in the human or the cosmic order is alien to the life of faith. The University welcomes all areas of scholarly activity as consonant with its mission, subject to appropriate critical refinement. There is, however, a special obligation and opportunity, specifically as a Catholic university, to pursue the religious dimensions of all human learning. Only thus can Catholic intellectual life in all disciplines be animated and fostered and a proper community of scholarly religious discourse be established.
In all dimensions of the University, Notre Dame pursues its objectives through the formation of an authentic human community graced by the Spirit of Christ.
How, exactly ?
I am a BC grad and was very pleased
(for the first time) that they stopped
the appearance of Bill Ayers. Finally
something decent.
I guess it really doesn’t pay to compromise when it comes to what is right vs. what is wrong. This might be a good lesson since some only listen for the sound of money.
hahaha
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