A pro-abortion University of Notre Dame professor has turned down a prestigious leadership appointment after facing major backlash from the pro-life movement and more than a dozen U.S. bishops.
Dean of the Keough School of Global Affairs at Notre Dame, Mary Gallagher, wrote in a Thursday email that Professor Susan Ostermann “has decided not to move forward as director” of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, EWTN News reported.
According to a copy of the email obtained by the Catholic news outlet, Gallagher said she was “grateful for [Ostermann’s] willingness to serve and for the thoughtfulness with which she approached the decision.”
Ostermann said she decided not to take on the role, saying, “Focus on my appointment risks overshadowing the vital work the institute performs, which it should be allowed to pursue without undue distraction.” She additionally claimed it is “clear that there is work to do at Notre Dame to build a community where a variety of voices can flourish.” The Notre Dame Observer first reported the news.
Ostermann’s withdrawal comes weeks after increasing backlash against the Catholic university and following a statement from Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, Bishop Kevin Rhoades, calling on the school to drop her appointment.
The school first announced Ostermann’s appointment in early January. On Feb. 11, Rhoades called the decision a “scandal to the faithful of our diocese and beyond.”
“The bishop pointed to Ostermann’s well-documented public support of abortion, as well as her sometimes-caustic criticism of the pro-life movement, which she has at times linked to racism and misogyny,” EWTN reported.
Rhoades wrote that Ostermann’s beliefs about abortion “go against a core principle of justice that is central to Notre Dame’s Catholic identity and mission.”
Several U.S. prelates backed Rhoades, including Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila; Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, Bishop Robert Barron; San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone; and Green Bay, Wisconsin, Bishop David Ricken. Several others praised Rhoades for taking a stand against Ostermann’s appointment, per the report.
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops President Archbishop Paul Coakley also told the school to reverse course, contending that Ostermann “openly stands against Catholic teaching when it comes to the sanctity of life, in this case protection of the unborn.”
During the firestorm, two scholars announced their disaffiliation with the school, specifically citing Ostermann’s appointment, according to the report.
Another professor revealed in a Feb. 13 essay that he had left the school because Notre Dame’s leaders are “equivocal about [the school’s] Catholic mission and make decisions and pursue practices that undermine it,” although he left before Ostermann’s appointment.
The Notre Dame Right to Life Executive Board published an op-ed the school’s independent newspaper, The Observer, on Feb. 3, pointing to Ostermann’s long pro-abortion record. The board specifically noted 11 op-ed pieces Ostermann wrote referring to pro-life laws as based in “white supremacy” and “racism.” They also pointed out her work as a member of the Population Council, “an organization that collaborated with the Chinese government to promote abortion, contraception and the enforcement of the one-child policy, violates the dignity of human life.”
“These and other actions render Ostermann unfit to serve as head of the Liu Institute,” the board wrote.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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