Moral Chaos at the University of Notre Dame

“The sins which lead most souls to hell are sins of the flesh!”
~ Blessed Jacinta Marto

During the week of October 10-14, 2005, students at the prominent Catholic University of Notre Dame faced another assault against traditional Catholic morality on campus: “National Coming Out Day.” The week-long event included shocking pro-homosexual activities with titles such as:

• Speak Out! Sex and Gender at Notre Dame Rally
• Come Out of Your Closet!
• Library Exhibit: Famous LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender] Individuals
• The Process of Coming Out: A Panel Discussion
• Gay? Fine by Me T-shirt Day

An email alert circulated by a Notre Dame graduate student on October 7 advertised pro-homosexual activities stating: “All campus Masses [on Sunday, October 9] will be dedicated to creating a more welcoming environment for ND GLBTQ [gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer] students. Homilies at Mass in residence halls and the Basilica will reflect this message, and prayer cards and rainbow ribbons will be distributed during all campus Masses.”¹

The same email also invites students to watch a film called Ma Vie En Rose [My Life in Pink]. A description of the movie talks about one of the characters: “Ludovic is a young boy who can’t wait to grow up to be a woman.”

According to The Observer, Notre Dame’s Graduate Student Union and Sociology Department sponsored a “coming out” experience:.A life-size orange closet draped with a rainbow curtain was placed on the quad in front of the South Dining Hall. Students on their way to lunch were given pink flyers and urged to support the homosexual agenda by literally coming out of this large closet.²

More Symptoms of Moral Decay

This week’s outrage comes on the heels of other troubling pro-homosexual events. On February 10, 2005 Notre Dame hosted its second annual “Queer Film Festival,” where notorious dissident Catholic speakers freely voiced their scandalous opinions. At one session, pro-homosexual Sister Jeannine Grammick is reported to have told students: “I’m beginning to believe that the greatest sin for lesbian and gay people is to want to be straight.”In 1999, Pope John Paul II permanently prohibited Sister Grammick from all and any pastoral work involving homosexuals. Causing grave scandal, she ignored the order from Rome and continues to contradict Church teaching.³

Another featured guest speaker at the 2005 “Queer Film Festival” was Terrence McNally, author of “Corpus Christi,” a blasphemous play that portrays Our Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles as homosexuals, and which the American TFP protested in 1998. Unfortunately, that is not all. A few days after the “Queer Film Festival,” amid widespread opposition, the lewd feminist play “V***** Monologues” was performed on campus with the support of three university departments.

Before this appalling scenario, Notre Dame’s Catholic administrators are virtually silent, if not complacent. In fact, despite the protests, 2006’s “Queer Film Festival” is apparently still scheduled, although there is talk that it will undergo a name change.⁴

The Ploy of Academic Freedom

The Most Reverend John M. D’Arcy, bishop of the diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, opposed the deplorable “Queer Film Festival” in a statement:

This presentation is an abuse of academic freedom. Pope John Paul II makes clear the place of academic freedom when he says it must always be linked to certain values central to a Catholic university.

Freedom is always linked to truth. In this seminar, held at a Catholic university, there is no place given to the presentation of Catholic teaching on the matter of homosexuality. The rights of others are violated. What about the rights of the church to have its teachings properly presented? What about the rights of parents of those students at Notre Dame who find the content of this seminar offensive?4

Launching a prayerful protest

The mission of a Catholic University includes counseling students away from sin, providing them with insights to the necessity and beauty of the virtue of chastity that some may have never known. As Blessed Jacinta warned: “The sins which lead most souls to hell are sins of the flesh!”

That is why TFP Student Action is launching a peaceful and prayerful protest, asking the recently elected president of the University of Notre Dame, Fr. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., to uphold Catholic morality. The success of this protest depends largely on your prayers. Please pray for the end of homosexual sin and for the perseverance of Catholic students.

The more letters we generate, the better.

Then forward this article to your friends. Call Fr. Jenkins to complain (always politely and respectfully). Personal letters are effective. Send them to:

Rev. Fr. John I. Jenkins, CSC, President
University of Notre Dame
317 Main Building
Notre Dame, IN 46556
Phone: 574-631-5000
Email: [email protected]

Dr. Thomas G. Burish, Provost
University of Notre Dame
300 Main Building
Notre Dame, IN 46556
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Phone: 574-631-6631, Fax: 574-631-6897

Other numbers to call:

Alumni Association
Phone: 574-631-6000
Email: [email protected]

Vice President for Public Affairs and Communication
Ms Hilary Crnkovich
Phone: 574-631-6798
Email: [email protected]