Notre Dame's Chairman of the Board
When Notre Dame decided to honor Barack Obama at the 2009 commencement, both the President, Father John Jenkins, and the Board of Trustees took pains to insist that the invitation should in no way be taken as endorsement of the President's position on abortion or indeed indifference to Catholic teaching on life. Now we have a new issue: one of the newest members of the board, Roxanne Martino, has a record of contributing to Emily's List -- a group designed to support pro-choice Democratic women for office. This week the chairman of the ND board, Dick Notebaert, has now sent out an email to board members that suggests that it's not just Ms. Martino's judgment that is called into question. It's his too. The note reads as follows:
Response: Roxanne Martino
First, it’s inaccurate to characterize Roxanne Martino as pro-choice. Ms. Martino (along with her husband, Rocco) is a Notre Dame graduate, and she is fully supportive of Church teaching on the sanctity of life.
She has through the years contributed to organizations that provide a wide range of important services and support to women. She did not realize, however, that several of these organizations also take a pro-choice position. This is not her personal position, and she will now review all of her contributions to ensure that she does not again inadvertently support these kinds of activities in the future.
Let's take these one by one. First, he says it is "inaccurate" to call Ms. Martino pro-choice, but the only evidence he presents is that she is an ND grad and supports church teaching. This general assertion, however, is belied by her actions, in particular her support for Emily's List.
In big capital letters -- some of them in red -- on the home page of it's website, Emily's List asks you to "HELP US ELECT PRO-CHOICE DEMOCRATIC WOMEN." Pace Mr. Notebaert, this is not a group that "also takes" a view on abortion. Abortion is the issue here. Emily's List has no other purpose. This is America's premier group for electing pro-choice Democratic women. If Ms. Martino in her innocence truly did not realize that elementary fact about an exceptionally well-established political group that she chose to give her money to, is this a person who belongs on a university's board of trustees? And what does her decision to support that group over several years say about Mr. Notebaert's claim that she is not pro-choice?
If you click on the "What We Do" section inside Emily's List, it goes on to say "We’re a full-service political team with a simple mission: to elect pro-choice Democratic women." Let's underscore those words: simple mission. Maybe Mr. Notebaert didn't do his homework on Emily's List either. What does it say about his judgment as the board chairman. And what does it say about his view of the intelligence of the Notre Dame board that he would put out something so dissembling?
Maybe he's right about the board: that these aren't men and women who are going to ask tough questions. Maybe they'll be happy with a spin that 20 seconds on the Emily's List website would dispel. Mr. Notebaert's little email about Ms. Martino sure seems, however, to raise rather than dispel questions about the kind of judgment that prevails on the Notre Dame board.
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Jun '10
Re: Notre Dame's Chairman of the Board
Her excuse is laughable. The people who run EMILY's List have as much respect for Catholic Church teaching as Charlie Sheen does, and it's no secret.
Re: Notre Dame's Chairman of the Board
I'm not Roman Catholic and I still find this explanation insulting.
Re: Notre Dame's Chairman of the Board
I don't think -- or rather I hope -- that logic is non-demoninational. Give Emily's List it's due: it is honest about what it wants and what it does. What kind of exec did not understand that and gave money anyway? What kind of exec gives money over several years to something she does not understand?
Jan '11
Re: Notre Dame's Chairman of the Board
With such situational awareness, why is this woman on the Notre Dame Board? Does she also give to Planned Parenthood for the mammograms?
Jun '10
Re: Notre Dame's Chairman of the Board
Minor clerical error here. Move on--change the subject.
That thought also applies to Notebaert. He was the CEO of at least three major corporations. He's smarter than that and would have fired a subordinate who made such a lame excuse.
Dec '10
Re: Notre Dame's Chairman of the Board
I want my church back. Let's start with the board at Notre Dame. Has the local bishop made a statement?
Re: Notre Dame's Chairman of the Board
Why should we be shocked at the hypocrisy of Catholic laymen when so many Catholic bishops are hypocrites? When Jennifer Granholm first ran for Governor in Michigan, she was openly pro-abortion. That did not, however, prevent the newspaper published by the Lansing Diocese from touting her candidacy by running a big puff-piece on her. Catholicism in the United States has always been more a matter of tribal allegiance than of doctrinal fidelity. I would like to think that this is changing now, but we shall see. I am confident that Mr. Notebaert and Ms.Martino are loyal members of the tribe.
Jun '10
Re: Notre Dame's Chairman of the Board
Notre Dame? Is that still a school?
Jun '10
Re: Notre Dame's Chairman of the Board
I wouldn't go so far. Bishops can not endorse specific candidates, nor can priests in their official capacity as an authority of a diocese or parish. So I would hardly take this periodical as an endorsement from the Bishop. Who knows who runs these periodicals? That such an article appeared is shameful, but unlikely the work of the Bishop himself.
Jan '11
Re: Notre Dame's Chairman of the Board
Mr. Rahe, I'd advise you to be careful in how you characterize American catholics. I don't appreciate being called a member of a tribe or told that my fellow Catholics, including most of the people I love dearly and who support Catholic teachings fully, don't really care about matters of doctrine. There are many in this country who fit the description you use, certainly. But I suggest you trim the size of that brush your wielding rather dramatically.
Jun '10
Re: Notre Dame's Chairman of the Board
There's some truth in that. In past decades, there was also a reluctance by Catholic clergy to stand up to some well-known and very unrepentant Catholic gangsters. That reluctance was maybe more understandable. You can get hurt standing up to those guys. As for the pols, there's a fear of offending that large part of the congregation that's not very committed or obedient to Catholic teaching, and also, it's just that Catholic hope and belief that the Holy Spirit can come down and convict the heart of sinners at any moment, turn them around on a dime, and they (the clergy) want to be there when it happens. Well, they'll grow old and gray waiting for it, but they have hope.
Re: Notre Dame's Chairman of the Board
Samwise Gamgee
I wouldn't go so far. Bishops can not endorse specific candidates, nor can priests in their official capacity as an authority of a diocese or parish. So I would hardly take this periodical as an endorsement from the Bishop. Who knows who runs these periodicals? That such an article appeared is shameful, but unlikely the work of the Bishop himself. · May 20 at 8:41am
It was the cover article. If this was done without his approval, it speaks of gross incompetence.
Re: Notre Dame's Chairman of the Board
I stand by what I said. If you re-read it, you will see that I said nothing about you, your dear ones, or any particular Catholics. That many are devout I do not for a second doubt and did not deny. That even more, at least in the past, were considerably less than devout, that the allegiance was for the most part tribal and ethnic can hardly be denied. That is the reason that abortion has been such a sticking point -- and for priests and bishops as well as laymen. Very, very rarely does one hear a sermon on the subject. It is treated by the clergy as an embarrassment.
Jun '10
Re: Notre Dame's Chairman of the Board
Paul A. Rahe
It was the cover article. If this was done without his approval, it speaks of gross incompetence. · May 20 at 9:26am
Bishops are very busy and often delegate tasks to others (which may or may not be wise). I'm not familiar with this specific case, and as it was in your diocese, I'll defer to you on the lukewarmness of the bishop.
But, the fact remains that Bishops and priests do not endorse specific candidates. At least they are instructed not to. Endorsement of pro-abortion candidates would be an extreme scandal and morally reprehensible.
It goes a bit far to call someone a hypocrite simply because a periodical in his diocese (over which we don't know how much control he has) prints an article.
Shameful though, to be sure, that such an article was published.
Re: Notre Dame's Chairman of the Board
But, the fact remains that Bishops and priests do not endorse specific candidates. At least they are instructed not to. Endorsement of pro-abortion candidates would be an extreme scandal and morally reprehensible.
Technically, of course, you are right. In the US, bishops and priests rarely, if ever, make formal endorsements of candidates. But it would be naive to suppose that they do not sometimes with a wink and a nod attempt to influence electoral results. Everyone in the Lansing Diocese knew what was being intimated. The puff piece conveyed this message: "Jennifer Granholm! Vote for her; she is one of our own." In most dioceses, since 1973, the church's teaching on abortion has been soft-pedaled. Had the bishops come on like gangbusters in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade, subsequent Supreme Court appointments would have insured that the precedent was overturned. What they have done and not done in the interim is a scandal and morally reprehensible.
Edited on May 20, 2011 at 6:59pmMar '11
Re: Notre Dame's Chairman of the Board
In the year after my final financial contribution to my Jesuit alma mater, I got a response similar to Notebaert's from the University President when I objected to the decision to grant an honorary degree to Chris Matthews: "He's a graduate of a Jesuit school and he fully supports the teaching authority of the Church." His willingness to elide Matthews' pro-abortion history struck me as positively jesuitical. To add insult to injury, a second honorary degree went to Cornel West that year.
Edited on May 20, 2011 at 7:49pmJun '10
Re: Notre Dame's Chairman of the Board
Fortunately, things are changing in this respect, as the boomer generation fades away. There are plenty of very strong, authoritative bishops to look to for the American Catholic: Archbishop Chaput in Denver, Archbishop Gomez, Archbishop Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop Dolan, Bishop Tobin, Archbishop Carlson, Cardinal Burke.
Pope Benedict has appointed orthodox and strong bishops and many of us see the tide turning, especially in terms of Bishops protecting life and of the teachings of the Church.
I'd like to see a little more exercise of such authority (as I presume you, Professor, would as well). We can start by stripping schools like Notre Dame of their Catholic name, which falls well within the authority of the Bishop, if they continue to support and praise pro-abortion politicians.
Re: Notre Dame's Chairman of the Board
Question, Bill: How much of a scandal has this caused among Notre Dame alums? Are they by and large accepting the chairman's ridiculous email? Or are there a few (in addition to your own fine self) who are pushing back?
Re: Notre Dame's Chairman of the Board
Peter, the sad thing is that these things don't seem to be regarded as a scandal at all. Partly this is because ND is out in the Midwestern sticks, far from media centers. Partly it's because few people outside the ND community know of these things. The larger scandal is that we have several priests and at least one bishop on the board.
The board's passivity is, as they say, thundering across Catholic America.
Dec '10
Re: Notre Dame's Chairman of the Board
The primary function of an ND trustee is to provide significant financial support for the university. In return he or she gets a resume enhancement and good accommodations on football weekends. The rest of it is simply window dressing for both the university and the individual. The degradation of my university's original Catholic mission has taken place over several decades, accelerating in the '90s with the transition to "research university" status. The administration contends it can balance the demands of academic agnosticism with its spiritual heritage. So far, it has been less than effective. This latest scandal shows there is a lot more work ahead for those toiling in the shadow of the Golden Dome.
Edited on May 20, 2011 at 9:06pm