Backlash: Notre Dame Appoints Pro-Abortion Advocate
Notre Dame’s decision to promote a publicly pro-abortion advocate to an academic leadership role has ignited outrage among many Catholics and triggered faculty resignations.
On January 8, 2026, the University of Notre Dame announced the promotion of Susan Ostermann, a publicly outspoken advocate of abortion, appointing her as Director of the Keough School’s Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, effective July 1. The decision has sparked widespread outrage among faithful Catholics, alumni, and students—and has already led to the resignation of two professors associated with the University’s Asian studies institute.
The resignations came in direct response to Notre Dame’s decision to place an advocate of abortion into a position of academic leadership. Ostermann’s position on abortion stands in direct contradiction to Catholic moral teaching, which affirms that every innocent human life must be protected from the moment of conception.
For many, this move was not surprising as the university already has a poor track record of upholding its Catholic mission. In 2009, Notre Dame invited president Barack Obama to give a commencement speech and receive an honorary degree. Over 70 bishops nationwide expressed their disapproval for such a scandal. In November 2023, Notre Dame hosted a drag queen performance on campus, an event that provoked backlash and prompted a peaceful protest involving several hundred students. These incidents, like the current controversy, has raised serious questions about the university’s Catholic identity.
Notre Dame explicitly claims to be a Catholic. According to its website, as a Catholic University, it “draws its basic inspiration from Jesus Christ as the source of wisdom and from the conviction that in him all things can be brought to their completion.”
The Magisterium of the Catholic Church—established by Christ Himself and entrusted to St. Peter and his successors—has taught that abortion is an intrinsic evil that can therefore never be tolerated. To elevate a known pro-abortion advocate to a leadership role within a Catholic university is to condone views that are gravely opposed to the Faith.
The role of a professor or academic director is to transmit the truth, which can only be found in God. Faithful Catholics are therefore asking how someone who denies the basic right to life can credibly serve in such a role within a Catholic institution.
“This is absolutely unacceptable. Where has the Catholic identity of the University gone?” said Brandon Williams, a Notre Dame alumnus in a statement to TFP Student Action. “The administration needs to understand the incompatibility of public feticide activists and employment at the world’s leading Catholic University.”
Whether Notre Dame will reaffirm its identity or further distance itself from the principles upon which it was founded remains a question of serious concern for Catholics.
John Ritchie, director of TFP Student Action, condemned the decision as a direct assault on Notre Dame’s identity. “A Catholic university cannot claim fidelity to Christ while elevating someone who openly rejects the right to life,” Ritchie said. “Abortion is not a difference of opinion, it is an intrinsic evil.” He warned that appointing a public abortion advocate to academic leadership sends a devastating message. “Catholic universities exist to form minds in truth,” Ritchie said. “When campus leaders hire professors who contradict the Faith, Notre Dame sells its soul to the world.”
Ritchie said the appointment continues a disturbing pattern. “From honoring pro-abortion politicians to hosting drag performances, this decision fits a long trajectory of scandal,” he said. “Notre Dame cannot serve two masters—Christ and the culture of death. Faithful Catholics are asking for coherence.”
Contact the university with your firm and polite concern:
Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C.
President, University of Notre Dame
400 Main Building
Notre Dame, IN 46556
Phone: (574) 631-3903
Fax: (574) 631-7428
Email: president@nd.edu
Sources:
Sycamore Trust: https://sycamoretrust.org/abor...
The University of Notre Dame website: https://www.nd.edu/about/missi...
National Catholic Register: https://www.ncregister.com/new...