Recent events at the University of Notre Dame are creating a great deal of moral confusion. Ever since the university decided to honor our pro-abortion president at its commencement ceremony earlier this year, it seems the institution is on a direct collision course with its long-standing Catholic identity.

May, 2009: TFP volunteers in ceremonial habit make reparation to Our Lady at Notre Dame's main gate for the graduation scandal.

For example:

• Notre Dame funded a student trip to the National Equality March in Washington, D.C, held on October 11. The pro-homosexual march demanded same-sex “marriage” and the abolition of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

• Notre Dame’s Gender Relations Center announces troubling activities on its 2009 Fall Initiatives calendar. The online calendar announces activities which promote the homosexual lifestyle, such as “National Coming Out Day” and “National Day of Silence.”

• On September 8, Notre Dame professor of theology, Fr. Richard McBrien, made a shocking statement in the National Catholic Reporter: “Eucharistic adoration, perpetual or not, is a doctrinal, theological, and spiritual step backward, not forward… it is difficult to speak favorably about the devotion today.”

• The 88 pro-lifers who entered Notre Dame’s campus to be the voice of the unborn last May continue to face trespass charges and up to one year in jail. Nearly 20,000 people have signed a petition or called Fr. John I. Jenkins, urging him to ask the prosecutor to drop the charges. However, the charges still stand.

How ironic. While students got a free ride to a pro-homosexual march, 88 pro-lifers – including a Catholic priest – have so far been denied leniency for walking onto campus while praying the rosary. How hard would it be for Fr. Jenkins to call a press conference and ask the county prosecutor to drop the charges?

Asking Our Lady for Help

The scandal at Notre Dame is bound to impact how other Catholic universities hold true to moral values. “What happens to Notre Dame is crucial in terms of what happens to all religious colleges in the country,” said Notre Dame alumnus Mr. William Dempsey to The Washington Times. “We wonder if it's going to turn into another Georgetown.”

TFP Student Action invites all its readers to redouble their prayers and peaceful efforts regarding the crisis at Notre Dame. May Our Lady strengthen us in these times of great moral confusion and inspire more and more students to boldly stand up for moral values.

Related:

• URGENT petition to Notre Dame: Please drop the charges
• Notre Dame Update: 14,500 Pro-Lifers Urge Fr. Jenkins to “Drop Charges”
• How the Gold Dome Tarnished
• Faithful Catholics Reject V-Monologues at Notre Dame