Catholic Bishop Issues Fiery Statement Opposing A Pro-Abortion Professor At Notre Dame

Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend issued a stern statement regarding the appointment of  Professor Susan Ostermann as Head of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies at Notre Dame University in South Bend. 

Bishop Rhoades expressed his “dismay” and “strong opposition” to Ostermann's appointment to a leadership position at the flagship American Catholic institution of higher learning. He urged Notre Dame to “make things right” and rescind the appointment. Since early January, the university has been criticized for the appointment. Ostermann is an outspoken proponent of abortion who has frequently damned the pro-life moment. She has linked prolifers to racial supremacy and misogyny. Pro-life students at Notre Dame and elsewhere have joined a chorus demanding the rescission of the appointment.  

Below are some excerpts from his statement:

-- In nearly a dozen op-eds (co-authored with another abortion activist, former Notre Dame Professor Tamara Kay), Professor Ostermann has attacked the pro-life movement, using outrageous rhetoric. I need not repeat it all here since it has been widely covered in the media, but a few examples stand out. She wrote that the pro-life position has “its roots in white supremacy and racism,” and has misogyny “embedded” in the movement. She has attacked pregnancy resource centers as deceptive “anti-abortion propaganda sites” that harm women. She also argued that the Catholic social doctrine of “integral human development” supports abortion because it enhances freedom and flourishing for women. These are all outrageous claims that should disqualify her from an administrative and leadership role at a Catholic university. 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.

--"Having now read many of the op-ed pieces co-authored by Professor Ostermann, I must express my dismay and my strong opposition to this appointment that is causing scandal to the faithful of our diocese and beyond. 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."

--"She wrote that the pro-life position has “its roots in white supremacy and racism,” and has misogyny “embedded” in the movement. She has attacked pregnancy resource centers as deceptive “anti-abortion propaganda sites” that harm women. She also argued that the Catholic social doctrine of “integral human development” supports abortion because it enhances freedom and flourishing for women. These are all outrageous claims that should disqualify her from an administrative and leadership role at a Catholic university."

--"Some may claim that this appointment should be protected by academic freedom. Academic freedom concerns the liberty of faculty to conduct research according to their own professional judgment and interests. This appointment, by contrast, concerns the official administrative appointment to lead an academic unit. Such appointments have profound impact on the integrity of Notre Dame’s public witness as a Catholic university."

--"Because I have the particular responsibility as Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend “to promote and assist in the preservation and strengthening” of the Catholic identity of Catholic universities within my diocese (cf. Ex corde ecclesiae #28), I call upon the leadership of Notre Dame to rectify this situation. The appointment of Professor Ostermann is not scheduled to go into effect until July 1, 2026. There is still time to make things right."