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‘There is not anything illicit about it’: Community reflects on pope’s support for same-sex civil unions

Gabrielle Penna | Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Pope Francis was featured in the documentary “Francesco” at the Rome Film Festival on Oct. 21. Interviews included in this documentary addressed issues of poverty, migration, racial equality and environmental sustainability. In addition to addressing these issues, the pope vocalized support for same-sex civil unions, becoming the first pontiff to do so. “Homosexual people have

Viewpoint

The idea of a Catholic university

Brennan Buhr | Monday, April 27, 2020

Writing a senior thesis can actually be kind of fun, if you select an interesting topic and an excellent advisor like Professor Daniel Philpott. Of course, this large academic project may not be “fun” in the same sense as hiking or surfing or playing baseball or watching the New England Patriots win countless Super Bowls,

Viewpoint

Observer Editorial: A place for the Church’s thinking

Observer Editorial Board | Friday, September 20, 2019

University President Emeritus Fr. Theodore Hesburgh once called Notre Dame “a place where the Church does its thinking.” Although the origin of Hesburgh’s words have been lost to time, their meaning remains clear: Notre Dame could be a sanctuary for Catholic reflection – a meeting ground for the Church to convene and bring about concrete

Viewpoint

The self-regulated spiritual upper-class

Ashton Weber | Tuesday, September 10, 2019

On the first day of July 2009, exactly 49 days after I turned nine years old, Fr. Geoffrey Drew was named the new pastor of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, my parish since I was nine months old. Almost immediately, he became my favorite priest. The way he preached was bold and provocative. He was unafraid to

News

2019-2020 Notre Dame Forum to address Church sex abuse crisis

Observer Staff Report | Wednesday, May 1, 2019

The 2019-2020 Notre Dame Forum, titled “Rebuild My Church: Crisis and Response” will focus on the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, University President Fr. John Jenkins announced in press release Wednesday. “While we must never fail to be honest and forthright about terrible acts of abuse and failures of oversight, the forum is

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I am a woman

Letter to the Editor | Thursday, April 11, 2019

I am a woman. I have two X chromosomes. I have female secondary sex characteristics. I have longer hair. I have a feminine face. I am a woman. I am a Saint Mary’s student. I am doing fine. I am receiving a wonderful higher education. I am a STEM major. I will

News

Journalist offers insight to American-Catholic, Vatican relations

Jack Lyons | Friday, March 22, 2019

When describing relations between the Catholic Church in America and the Vatican, John L. Allen Jr. compared the climate to a game where two men take turns kicking each other until one of them gives up. “We are not actually engaged in a patient search for understanding,” he said in a lecture at Holy Cross

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A people of hope

Letter to the Editor | Friday, October 5, 2018

“Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have been pasturing themselves! Should not shepherds, rather, pasture sheep?” These words from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel are painfully true today. Starting this past summer, the Catholic Church in the United States has found herself once again amidst great scandal with the news of Archbishop Theodore

Scene

The Met’s ‘Heavenly Bodies’ creative but respectful

Sara Schlecht | Friday, September 28, 2018

The Catholic Church can’t manage to stay out of the news. A recent wave of sexual abuse accusations against priests has Catholics and non-Catholics alike criticizing the Church’s handling of these widespread problems. These things were at the forefront of my mind as I traveled with 33 other Saint Mary’s students and several professors to

News

Notre Dame community responds to sex abuse crisis

Natalie Weber and Mary Steurer | Wednesday, September 12, 2018

In the aftermath of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report, members of the Notre Dame community gathered Tuesday in a discussion hosted by Campus Ministry to grapple with the sexual abuse crisis facing the Catholic Church. “There’s going to be no resolution at the end of this,” Fr. Pete McCormick, director of Campus Ministry, said. “But

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