Head of U.S. bishops joins call for Notre Dame to drop appointment of pro-abortion professor

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops President Archbishop Paul Coakley is urging the University of Notre Dame to drop the leadership appointment of an outspoken pro-abortion professor, joining nearly a dozen bishops in calling on the historic Catholic university to back away from the controversial decision.

The controversy at Notre Dame exploded this week after Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, Bishop Kevin Rhoades on Feb. 11 expressed “dismay” and “strong opposition” to the school’s appointment of Professor Susan Ostermann as director of the school’s Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies.

Ostermann has in the past spoken out strongly in favor of abortion and sharply criticized the pro-life movement, at times suggesting that its roots are in “white supremacy” and misogyny. Rhoades said Ostermann’s beliefs, coupled with her leadership promotion at the Catholic school, were “causing scandal to the faithful of our diocese and beyond.”

Multiple U.S. bishops from around the country backed Rhoades’s call throughout the week, with Coakley himself speaking out about the controversy on Feb. 13.

“I fully support Bishop Kevin Rhoades in his challenge to Notre Dame to rectify its poor judgement in hiring a professor who openly stands against Catholic teaching when it comes to the sanctity of life, in this case protection of the unborn,” Coakley said in a statement on X.

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The statement was shared hundreds of times on X, including by Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, the bishop emeritus of Hong Kong.

Though criticism against Notre Dame’s decision has come from top Catholic leadership in the U.S. throughout the week, the school has indicated that it will be standing by its plan to have Ostermann lead the institute.

Notre Dame told EWTN News on Feb. 13 that Ostermann is “a highly regarded political scientist and legal scholar” who is “well prepared” to serve in the role.

At the same time the university stressed its “unwavering” commitment “to upholding the inherent dignity of the human person and the sanctity of life at every stage.”

Ostermann herself has told media that she “respect[s] Notre Dame’s institutional position on the sanctity of life at every stage.” She has described herself as “fully committed to maintaining an environment of academic freedom where a plurality of voices can flourish.”