The Illusion of Catholic Identity in the Post-Conciliar University

The University of Notre Dame, a self-described “Catholic” institution, recently faced backlash over the appointment of Professor Susan Ostermann, a known advocate for abortion, to direct its Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies. Following objections from U.S. bishops—including Fort Wayne-South Bend Bishop Kevin Rhoades, who called the appointment “scandalous” and contrary to “core principles of justice” in Notre Dame’s “Catholic identity”—Ostermann withdrew her acceptance. The university’s initial stance, articulated by Keough School Dean Mary Gallagher, framed Ostermann as an “exceptional scholar” and an “outstanding choice,” emphasizing academic freedom and institutional witness only after pressure mounted.

This incident, while presented as a victory for Catholic orthodoxy, reveals the profound theological and institutional bankruptcy of the post-conciliar “Catholic” university. The bishops’ objections, though correct in identifying abortion as a grave evil, operate entirely within the flawed conciliar framework that equates “Catholic identity” with vague institutional witness and academic freedom, rather than with the explicit, exclusive, and uncompromising profession of the integral Faith. Their criticism stops short of demanding the repudiation of the modernist errors that make such an appointment conceivable in the first place.

1. Factual Deconstruction: A Battle Within the Modernist Paradigm

The article details a sequence: announcement (January), episcopal criticism (February 11 onward), university intransigence (until February 26), and Ostermann’s withdrawal. The bishops’ statements, quoted in the article, focus on “institutional witness” and the “compromise” of mission when leaders “act or speak against fundamental teachings.” Archbishop Paul Coakley states the appointment conflicts with “the sanctity of life.”

This framing is factually accurate but theologically insufficient. The bishops do not demand Ostermann’s excommunication or the university’s immediate correction under pain of schism. They do not invoke the Syllabus of Errors’ condemnation of the idea that “the Church has not the power of using force, nor has she any temporal power” (Syllabus, Error #24), nor do they call for the restoration of the Social Kingship of Christ as defined by Quas Primas. Their language is that of managerial concern (“mission-governance issue”) rather than doctrinal supremacy. The university’s eventual capitulation is portrayed as a prudent retreat, not a doctrinal necessity. The “backlash” is measured in episcopal statements and two professors’ resignations—a civil, not a supernatural, response.

2. Linguistic Analysis: The Vocabulary of Apostasy

The article’s language, and the quoted statements, are saturated with post-conciliar euphemisms that mask doctrinal collapse:

• “Catholic identity”: A nebulous concept post-Vatican II, replacing the pre-1958 definition of the Church as the “societas perfecta” (perfect society) with a vague cultural or institutional label. The Syllabus condemned the error that “the Church is not a true and perfect society, entirely free” (Error #19).
• “Academic freedom”: The bishops explicitly state, “Academic freedom protects inquiry. It does not require institutional self-contradiction.” This accepts the modernist premise that the university’s primary purpose is “inquiry” (natural reason) rather than the formation of Catholic minds in supernatural truth. Lamentabili Sane Exitu condemned the proposition that “ecclesiastical law… does not apply to authors engaged in scientific criticism” (Proposition 1) and that “the interpretation of Holy Scripture given by the Church… is subject to more exact judgments… by exegetes” (Proposition 2).
• “Institutional witness”: A bureaucratic term reducing the Church’s mission to symbolic acts, devoid of the coercive power Christ gave to “teach all nations… observing all things whatsoever I have commanded” (Matt. 28:20). It ignores the Syllabus’s teaching that the civil power must “recognize the rights of the Church” and that “the ecclesiastical power ought not to exercise its authority without the permission… of the civil government” (Errors #20, #41) is false.
• “Scandal to the faithful”: Used by Bishop Rhoades, this is a valid concept, but it is applied only to the emotional reaction of Catholics, not to the objective violation of God’s law and the damnation of souls facilitated by a “Catholic” platform for pro-abortion advocacy. The focus is on perception, not on the intrinsic evil of the act and the heretical principles underpinning it.

The tone is cautious, diplomatic, and administrative. There is no language of “anathema sit”, no invocation of the spiritual consequences for those who persist in error, no reminder of the Final Judgment. This is the language of a corporate boardroom, not of the “Church militant”.

3. Theological Confrontation: The Missing Doctrines

The bishops’ statements and the article’s narrative omit every essential supernatural framework:

• The Social Kingship of Christ: Quas Primas is unequivocal: “the entire human society had to be shaken, because it lacked a stable and strong foundation” when “God and Jesus Christ were removed from laws and states.” The article never questions why a “Catholic” university would have a department dedicated to “Asia and Asian Studies” without an explicit mandate to convert those nations to Catholicity. The Syllabus condemned the error that “it is false that the civil liberty of every form of worship… conduce more easily to corrupt the morals” (Error #79). The bishops do not demand that Notre Dame proclaim Christ as King over all disciplines.
• The Nature of Heresy and the Duty of Separation: The Defense of Sedevacantism file demonstrates that a manifest heretic loses office ipso facto. Professor Ostermann, by public, obstinate advocacy for abortion (the direct killing of the innocent, a crime crying out to heaven), places herself in manifest, public heresy against the natural law and the Fifth Commandment. The bishops do not call for her excommunication or for the faithful to boycott the university. They treat her as a misguided colleague, not as a soul in mortal peril and a corrupting influence. This omission is a denial of the Church’s power to bind and loose.
• The Sacramental and Supernatural Purpose of Catholic Education: Pre-conciliar Catholic education was a Sacrament of the Church’s teaching office, aimed at the salvation of souls. The article treats the university as a center for “scholarly engagement” and “inquiry.” This is the naturalism condemned by Pius X in Pascendi Dominici Gregis and Lamentabili. Proposition 58 of Lamentabili states: “Truth changes with man, because it develops with him…” This is the implicit philosophy of a university that would consider a pro-abortion advocate an “outstanding choice” for leadership.
• The Illegitimacy of the Post-Conciliar Structures: The analysis proceeds from the premise that the “University of Notre Dame” and the “U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops” are genuine Catholic entities. From an integral Catholic perspective, they are part of the “conciliar sect” occupying Catholic institutions. The bishops’ authority is null if they are in communion with the antipopes (John XXIII through Leo XIV). Their condemnations, therefore, have no magisterial weight. Their failure to condemn Vatican II’s Dignitatis Humanae (religious liberty) and Nostra Aetate (false ecumenism) renders their stand on abortion a selective, humanistic protest, not a defense of the Faith.

4. Symptomatic Analysis: The Conciliar Revolution in Microcosm

This incident is a perfect case study in the systemic apostasy of the post-1958 Church:

• The Primacy of Man over God: The conflict is framed as one of “academic freedom” vs. “Catholic mission.” The ultimate criterion is not “What does God’s law require?” but “What does the university’s self-understanding allow?” This is the “cult of man” condemned by Pius IX in the Syllabus (Errors #56-64) and by Pius X against Modernism.
• Naturalistic Humanism: The debate occurs entirely on the natural level of institutional reputation, scholarly merit, and pastoral sensitivity. There is no mention of the supernatural end of the university: the salvation of souls and the glory of God. The “vital work the institute performs” (Ostermann’s words) is presumed to be secular scholarship, not the propagation of the Catholic Faith. This is the “reduction of the Church’s mission to naturalistic humanism” Pius XI condemned in Quas Primas when he lamented the secularism that “denied Christ the Lord’s reign over all nations.”
• False Ecumenism and Indifferentism: By maintaining a “Catholic” identity while employing a public heretic, Notre Dame practices the indifferentism condemned in the Syllabus (Errors #15-18). It suggests that one can be “Catholic” in name while publicly opposing a fundamental moral law. This is the “democratization of the Church” and “theological novelties” of Vatican II.
• The Failure of Clerical Authority: The bishops act not as pastors with the power to excommunicate and close institutions, but as lobbyists and public commentators. Their “strong opposition” is a request, not a command. This reflects the conciliar downgrading of episcopal authority into mere “collegiality” and “dialogue.” They use the language of the world (“scandal,” “mission-governance”) instead of the language of the Church (“defection from the Faith,” “excommunication,” “suppression of the institute”).

Conclusion: The Bankruptcy of the Conciliar “Solution”

The outcome—a pro-abortion professor stepping down—is presented as a triumph. In reality, it is a tactical retreat within a bankrupt system. The “Catholic” university proved it has no coherent Catholic identity, only a PR department sensitive to episcopal pressure. The bishops proved they have no doctrinal teeth, only a platform for media statements. The entire spectacle occurs within the “neo-church,” where the language of Faith is used to defend a naturalistic, human-centered institution that, by its very structure and acceptance of “academic freedom,” is inherently hostile to the integral Catholic doctrine that “there is no power in us that is exempt from this reign” of Christ the King (Quas Primas).

The true Catholic response is not to pressure a modernist institution to make a personnel change. It is to declare, with Pius IX: “These laws are null and void because they are absolutely contrary to the divine constitution of the Church.” The university, by its very constitution and its willingness to consider such an appointment, is an “abomination of desolation” standing in the holy place. The bishops, by failing to demand total Catholic restoration and by remaining in communion with the antipopes, are complicit. The only remedy is the repudiation of the entire conciliar revolution and a return to the “immutable Tradition” of the pre-1958 Church, which knows no “academic freedom” that permits the promotion of intrinsic evil.

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Source:
Pro-abortion professor backs off leadership appointment at Notre Dame after backlash   (ewtnnews.com)
Date: 26.02.2026