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Posted March 2006
(John Jenkins, CSC, President
of the University of Notre Dame has asked the
alumni of Notre Dame to comment on the Vagina
Monologues, the Queer Film Festival, and his recent
announcements concerning the same. The following
is an open letter to him from a member of the
Class of 1979.)
John Jenkins, CSC:
Shame on you for not stating
what the true meaning of academic freedom is:
"The Church...recognizes the academic freedom
of scholars in each discipline in accordance with
its own principles and proper methods, and within
the confines of the truth and the common good."
(Ex Corde Eccelsiae I, 29) Professors cannot do
whatever they want.
You should have banned the
Monologues and banned the Queer Film Festival
for these are sophisticated means of moral subversion.
If you cannot see this, or are unwilling to admit
this, or are reluctant to act against these forms
of subversion, you endanger the souls of those
who attend the University, as well as your own
soul.
Finally, yes, the Monologues
and the Queer Film Festival should have been entirely
cancelled, but the greater problem remains, as
it has for a very long time at Notre Dame: the
intrusion of the culture of death, with its worldly
values, at all levels. Ex Corde Ecclesiae recognizes
that Catholic universities have a cultural mission
(ECE II 2) which means building a culture
in accordance with the truths of the Faith. Notre
Dame does not resist the dominant culture, it
does not create a counter-culture that is in accordance
with the Faith. Notre Dame has become a place
where young catholic men and women are socialized
for entry into the destructive dominant culture.
End the Monologues, end the
Queer Film Festival, build a community in accordance
with the Roman Catholic Faith and Tradition, and
require the faculty to respect the Faith. And
do all of these things now.
Sincerely,
David A. Wemhoff
Class of '79
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