Controversial priest reconfirmed at Notre Dame

The president of the University of Notre Dame, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., was appointed to a second term as president in a vote held on October 16. Father Jenkins has been reviled by some Catholics and pro-lifers for not only inviting President Obama to the 2009 commencement but also his bestowal of an honorary degree on the pro-abortion chief of state. Protesters at the commencement, who included Norma McCovery and Ambassador Alan Keyes were arrested by campus police for protesting against what they consider to be the abetting of President Obam's pro-abortion stance by the premier Catholic institution of higer learning. Charges have yet to be dropped following the May 2009 fracas.

“Notre Dame has suffered terribly in recent years because of a lack of leadership and commitment to its Catholic identity,” said Patrick J. Reilly, president of The Cardinal Newman Society (CNS). “The Board of Trustees has once again neglected their responsibility to uphold Notre Dame’s Catholic mission by reelecting a president who has displayed public disrespect for the bishops and has permitted repeated scandals including the honors to President Obama and performances of The Vagina Monologues.”

Fr. Jenkins was first elected to a five-year term as president of Notre Dame on April 30, 2004, becoming the university’s 17th president. Chairman Richard Notebaert announced that the University of Notre Dame Board of Trustees elected Fr. Jenkins to serve a second five-year term.

Led by Bishop John D’Arcy of the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese, in which Notre Dame is located, 83 U.S. bishops vocally opposed the honor for the pro-abortion president. They were joined by the more than 367,000 individuals who signed The Cardinal Newman Society’s petition at NotreDameScandal.com, calling on Fr. Jenkins to rescind the honor.

Fr. Jenkins appear to act in defiance of the 2004 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) statement “Catholics in Political Life”, which bishops cited in opposing the honor for President Obama. The statement prohibits Catholic institutions from honoring “those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles.” In June, 2009, the USCCB released a statement affirming Bishop D’Arcy’s “pastoral concern for Notre Dame University.”

The play The Vagina Monologues, which depicts a Lesbian seduction, has been hosted more than once at Notre Dame on Fr. Jenkins’ watch. Despite growing momentum against the play, public opposition by Bishop D’Arcy and an annual Catholic News Service campaign informing Catholic college presidents of the dangers of the play, in 2008 Jenkins issued a statement officially approving the return of The Vagina Monologues after a one-year hiatus. In protest, a committee of bishops moved their theological seminar off the Notre Dame campus. Although the play did not return in 2009, Fr. Jenkins has not taken any apparent action to prevent future productions.

Fr. Jenkins also sits on the board of Millennium Promise, an anti-poverty organization which reportedly supports the distribution of condoms and encourages abortion services where legal. In September 2009, Fr. Jenkins issued a statement announcing new pro-life initiatives at the University of Notre Dame. CNS has commended the show of good will, but noted that there are “serious steps that Notre Dame should take immediately to atone for its shocking betrayal of the U.S. bishops and the Catholic Church last spring.”