Dear Mr. Sobrino:
I do not argue with the fact that the Queer Film Festival at ND is an abomination. I argue with other opinions that you put out as fact that are just plain incorrect. I challenge you to visit Notre Dame, especially on a football weekend, and after this visit I challenge you to tell me that Our Lady's university has lost its catholicity.
Did you know
• that there is a rosary at the Grotto everyday at 6:45PM?
• that there are a multitude of Masses celebrated on campus every single day?
• that each dorm has a chapel where Mass is celebrated at least every Sunday, that students have the opportunity to find a Mass every Sunday at any hour of the day?
• that after the football games, there are 5 places to attend Mass within one hour of the game ending, and that it is announced at the football game?
• that the players, whether Catholic or not, attend Holy Mass on game mornings?
These facts are just a touch of the catholicity of Notre Dame.
I know for a fact that Fr. Jenkins, the new president, is fully aware of some of the institutional sins. He is prepared to rectify them. Instead of saying these horrible things about a beloved Catholic institution, and giving up on a university that has meant more to the Church than we could ever know, I challenge you to pray. I challenge you to have hope and faith. Prayer will do so much more for our Church than venomous articles about some of her sinners.
May God bless you and your future writings,
Susan Schudt
Dear Ms. Schudt,
I am delighted to hear about all the sacramental and other opportunities for Catholic students at Notre Dame University. But I still believe that there is a blatant, undeniable, and un-ignorable contradiction in the institution that speaks volumes about it.
In spite of all the very good things you describe, I, for one, would still not send any of my children there nor recommend anyone else to do so. Those same sacramental and devotional opportunities — along with equally beautiful churches and chapels — are present in other places without the baggage of the “Notre Dame Queer Film Festival.”
The bottom line is that I cannot ignore or take in stride associating a title of Our Lady with movies celebrating sodomy. For me, that is a line in the sand.
Ironically, my article may be your best ally in lobbying the institution about its sinking image as a Catholic institution. It seems that we are on the same side but have different temperaments and approaches probably because you are apparently on the inside, while I am on the outside. I have done my part from the outside. I respect what you are apparently doing from the inside and hope you will appreciate my differing vantage point and role. God works, as they say, in mysterious ways.
Happy Advent!
Oswald Sobrino
Catholic Analysis
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