The Boozer Family Story Omits The Children They Sacrificed
Out of the dozens of lives they had created, two would be usable.Out of the dozens of lives they had created, two would be usable.Notre Dame pro-abortion radical out as leader after students' and bishops' pressure campaign
The University of Notre Dame in Indiana announced last month that pro-abortion radical Susan Ostermann had been appointed to lead the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies.
The administrative elevation of an activist whose secular ministry is fundamentally at odds with the moral teachings of the Catholic Church and the school's corresponding pro-life position proved intolerable to Notre Dame's members and supporters — including the cleric invested with the power to prohibit the institution from identifying as Catholic.
'A win for consistency, clarity, and common sense.'
The sustained protest by scholars, supporters, alumni, and clergy — including 15 bishops and two archbishops — appears to have paid off.
Keough School of Global Affairs Dean Mary Gallagher, the administrator who reportedly first made the appointment, announced in a letter on Thursday to students and faculty that Ostermann "has decided not to move forward as director."
"I am grateful for her willingness to serve and for the thoughtfulness with which she approached this decision," wrote Gallagher.
Gallagher suggested further that the activist — who has dehumanized the unborn, downplayed the dangers of abortion, equated childbirth without the option of abortion as "violence," worked with an organization that seeks to enshrine pro-abortion policies around the world, and vilified the pro-life movement — is a "respected scholar" whose "research and teaching reflect the intellectual rigor and interdisciplinary excellence at the heart of both the Lieu Institute and the Keough School of Global Affairs."
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Ostermann said in a statement included in Gallagher's letter that "the focus on my appointment risks overshadowing the vital work the Institute performs, which it should be allowed to pursue without undue distraction," reported the Irish Rover.
She noted further that "it has become clear that there is work to do at Notre Dame to build a community where a variety of voices can flourish."
The announcement comes two weeks after Bishop Kevin Rhoades of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend condemned Ostermann's appointment, underscored that her views and activism were disqualifying, and told the university to "rectify this situation."
Following the news that Ostermann had thrown in the towel, Bishop Rhoades expressed gratitude "to all the members of the Notre Dame community and beyond who, out of love for Notre Dame, expressed their opposition to the appointment."
'The Bishop did not urge us to sit silently and watch our Lady’s University fall before our eyes.'
"The reason I opposed the appointment is because the appointment of persons to leadership positions at a Catholic university is an act of institutional witness, a mission-governance issue," wrote Rhoades.
"Clearly Notre Dame is reaffirming its fidelity to a core truth of Catholic social teaching that is central to the Church’s commitment to integral human development."
Mary FioRito, senior fellow at the Catholic Association, said in a statement obtained by Blaze News, "Professor Susan Ostermann's decision not to accept the position of director at the University of Notre Dame’s Liu Center is a win for consistency, clarity, and common sense."
"As an explicitly Catholic university, Notre Dame owes its students and faculty 'truth in advertising,'" continued FioRito. "Ostermann’s public advocacy of legal abortion would have overshadowed the good work of the Liu Center and significantly hampered its ability to form students."
Catholic and conservative student groups — including Notre Dame Right to Life, Knights of Columbus Council 1477, and the Militia of Immaculata — were planning to hold a prayerful protest Friday evening where they would urge Rev. Robert Dowd, the president of the university, to rescind the appointment and "exercise his authority to enforce Notre Dame's Catholic mission."
Sophomore Luke Woodyard, co-organizer of the planned demonstration, stated, "The Bishop did not urge us to sit silently and watch our Lady’s University fall before our eyes; he gave us a clear call to action."
Notre Dame Right to Life President Anna Kelley told the Observer on Thursday that in light of Ostermann's decision, students will still assemble on Friday but for "a prayerful procession in gratitude of the recent decision" and in thanks "for the true Catholic identity of Notre Dame."
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'Scandal': Abortion radical's appointment at University of Notre Dame has local Catholic bishop outraged
The University of Notre Dame in Indiana announced last month that pro-abortion radical Susan Ostermann had been appointed director of the school's Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies.
This appointment — reportedly made by Keough School of Global Affairs dean Mary Gallagher and approved by Notre Dame provost John McGreevy — has enraged those members and supporters of the university under the impression that the institution is still Catholic.
Despite significant backlash and resignations by some esteemed scholars, the university dug in its heels, refusing to reverse course. It may come to regret doing so sooner rather than later.
Leaning into his apostolic responsibility to protect and strengthen the school's Catholic identity, Bishop Kevin Rhoades of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend made abundantly clear on Wednesday that Ostermann's abortion advocacy is disqualifying.
"I must express my dismay and my strong opposition to this appointment that is causing scandal to the faithful of our diocese and beyond," the bishop said in a lengthy jeremiad. "Professor Ostermann's extensive public advocacy of abortion rights and her disparaging and inflammatory remarks about those who uphold the dignity of human life from the moment of conception to natural death go against a core principle of justice that is central to Notre Dame's Catholic identity and mission."
Bishop Rhoades noted that Ostermann, an associate professor of global affairs at the university, has repeatedly attacked the pro-life movement and defended the slaughter of the unborn "using outrageous rhetoric."
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In a December 2022 article that she co-authored with ex-Notre Dame professor Tamara Kay, Ostermann claimed:
- "Criminalizing abortion results in irreparable harm";
- It is a "lie" that "abortion kills babies";
- "There are no babies or fetuses" present during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, evidently discounting all the scientific evidence to the contrary;
- Abortion is not dangerous, evidently discounting the perspective of the unborn baby; and
- Abortion "doesn't affect future fertility."
In a July 2022 article she also co-authored with Kay, Ostermann claimed that white supremacy was one of the primary motivations behind the abortion abolition movement in the U.S., neglecting to mention how America's abortion regime was largely driven by racist eugenicists like Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger.
'These are all outrageous claims that should disqualify her.'
In a May 2022 article, the radical duo characterized pregnancy and childbirth without the option of abortion as "violence," "sexual abuse," and "trauma," and abortion, alternatively, as "freedom-enhancing, in the truest sense of the word."
Among her numerous other abortion propaganda pieces is an article claiming that a ban of the abortion pill mifepristone would "violate human rights" as well as an article attacking pro-life pregnancy centers.
'Rectify this situation.'
"These are all outrageous claims that should disqualify her from an administrative and leadership role at a Catholic university," the bishop wrote.
Bishop Rhoades also denounced the radical appointee's affiliation with the Population Council, an outfit that works to enshrine pro-abortion policies around the world.
"I hope that Professor Ostermann will explicitly retract these claims, and I pray that she will have a change of mind and heart that will lead her to affirm the innate dignity of unborn babies as well as that of their mothers."
After citing the late Pope Francis' assertion that it is a "false compassion which holds that it is a benefit to women to promote abortion," Pope Leo XIV's recent reminder that "the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion," and reiterating the Catholic Church's unchanging defense of "the inalienable right to life of mothers and their unborn children," the bishop underscored that "Professor Ostermann's opposite view thus clearly should disqualify her from holding a position of leadership within the Keough School."
The position publicly championed by Ostermann is at odds with the university's official position:
Consistent with the teaching of the Catholic Church on such issues as abortion, research involving human embryos, euthanasia, the death penalty, and other related life issues, the University of Notre Dame recognizes and upholds the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death.
In his message, the bishop — whose diocesan territory includes the university — noted both that such "appointments have profound impact on the integrity of Notre Dame's public witness as a Catholic university" and that the university has until July 1, when Ostermann's appointment is scheduled to go into effect, to "rectify this situation."
The decision to cancel the appointment reportedly rests with the six Holy Cross priests and six laypeople on the university's Board of Fellows.
'Going ahead with this appointment is repugnant.'
Holy Cross Father Wilson Miscamble, a professor emeritus of history at Notre Dame, recently noted in First Things that the board has a "fiduciary responsibility to maintain the university's 'character as a Catholic institution of higher learning.'"
A university spokesperson told the Irish Rover that the university had yet to change its position as of Feb. 8.
The Catholic Observer reported that if a bishop determines that a Catholic university is failing to faithfully execute its mission, he can issue a formal warning, bar the celebration of Mass at the institution, and forbid the school from identifying as Catholic. He can reportedly also seek an intervention by the Vatican.
Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, the newly retired Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila, and Bishop Michael Olson of the Diocese of Forth Worth thanked Bishop Rhoades for speaking out.
Bishop Barron noted that "going ahead with this appointment is repugnant to the identity and mission of that great center of Catholic learning."
Ostermann told the National Catholic Register late last month that she is "fully committed to maintaining an environment of academic freedom where a plurality of voices can flourish."
"While I hold my own convictions on complex social and legal issues," the pro-abortion radical continued, "I want to be clear: My role is to support the diverse research of our scholars and students, not to advance a personal political agenda."
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A more relevant discussion about the advertisements might point out the fact that women are overly sexualized and porn is so intertwined with American marketing.Sydney Sweeney ad is ‘Nazi propaganda,’ according to these leftists
Leftist TikTok is in meltdown mode yet again after a new American Eagle ad campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney made the claim that she has “good jeans.”
The “good jeans” is a play on words for “good genes” — which has sent those TikTokers spiraling and calling it full-on Nazi propaganda. In the ad itself, Sweeney is dressed in a pair of American Eagle jeans as she discusses her jeans/genes.
“Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My jeans are blue,” she says.
“I’m not here to tell you to buy American Eagle jeans. And I definitely won’t say they’re the most comfortable jeans I’ve ever worn, or that they make your butt look amazing. Why would I need to do that?” she says in another ad, before adding, “But if you said that you want to buy the jeans, I’m not gonna stop you. But just so we’re clear, this is not me telling you to buy American Eagle jeans.”
The type “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans” then appears, while a male voiceover reads it.
The left has interpreted the spot as promoting eugenics and Nazism, with one TikTok user, who has a transgender flag in the background of her video, saying, “Should we be surprised that a company whose name is literally American Eagle is making fascist propaganda like this? Probably not. But it’s still really shocking.”
“Like, a blond-haired, blue-eyed white woman is talking about her good genes. Like, that is Nazi propaganda,” she added.
“It’s a very sensual ad campaign, but at least it’s hetero,” executive producer of the “Steve Deace Show,” Aaron McIntire, says. “As a result, American Eagle’s market cap shot up $200 million.”
“Naturally, lefties and rainbow jihadis are really upset that an objectively attractive white woman is being featured in a marketing campaign,” he continued. “So, the new rules are if a heterosexual, white, objectively attractive woman starts a marketing campaign for clothing, it’s literally Nazi propaganda.”
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