GAY TRUTH

December 4, 2013 ( The Cardinal Newman Society ) - The Rev. John Jenkins, president of Notre Dame , explained in a recent  article in  The Observer  that he created an Oversight Committee on Diversity and Inclusion to create a welcoming atmosphere on campus that “go[es] across all areas” of campus for students, faculty, and staff.  He said that the committee “seeks to implement concrete changes on campus, but noticeable progress will not occur overnight.” In the article, Fr. Jenkins is quoted lauding the steps already taken towards this goal: I think that we have made progress. The creation of the GLBTQ group [Prism-ND] is a big step forward, and I hope that’s successful… But there are other areas of the University where maybe we need to think about, for instance, how to incorporate international students. … They bring great gifts, but perhaps we need to make sure that they’re fully included. … Sometimes individuals from underrepresented minorities … feel that Notre Dame cou

October 18, 2013 ( Public Discourse ) - I was surprised to see the posters. As I walked into my dormitory after a morning class, I saw posters advertising Notre Dame’s participation in National Coming Out Day ( NCOD ). I saw that the university’s  Gender Relations Center  (GRC) was cosponsoring the event, along with Notre Dame’s newly formed gay-straight alliance,  PrismND . National Coming Out Day has been celebrated annually on October 11—the date commemorating the 1987 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights —since its founding in 1988. According to Maureen Doyle, the GRC’s  Assistant Director for LGBTQ Initiatives , Notre Dame has been celebrating this national event since at least 2007. When I asked Doyle about how Notre Dame’s religious commitments comport with its participation in NCOD, she responded: We are called to support our brothers and sisters in Christ , which includes celebrating the multitude of identities that make each of us unique and beautiful indi

SOUTH BEND, December 7, 2012, ( Cardinal Newman Society )—In what the University of Notre Dame ’s student newspaper is calling “a historic decision,” the university announced plans for a university- recognized homosexual student organization as well as a full-time student development staff position focused on LGBTQ issues. The announcement was made as the result of a long review of the university’s policies. According to the  student newspaper , Fr. John Jenkins , the president of the university, said that the plan “grows out of our mission as a Catholic university ” and is “directed by that fundamental mission in a profound way.” Fr. John Jenkins, Notre Dame president, with President Obama . But although the plan describes the student organization as acting consistent with Catholic teaching, Fr. Jenkins seemed to indicate some doubt about how closely it will be regulated: Jenkins said the organization’s roots in Church teaching had a broad practical impact, but these roo