A senior Catholic historian accused Notre Dame of undermining its Catholic mission after the university appointed a professor with a public record of adamant support for abortion to lead one of its academic institutes.
In a Jan. 28 opinion essay titled “A Crisis of Catholic Fidelity at Notre Dame,” Father Wilson Miscamble, a longtime Notre Dame faculty member and priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross, said the appointment of political scientist Susan Ostermann as director of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies represents a “major test of fidelity” to the university’s Catholic identity.
Fr. Miscamble pointed to Notre Dame’s recently released strategic plan, which states that the university aims to be “the leading global Catholic research university” and pledges to “ensure that our Catholic character informs all our endeavors.”
He wrote that this commitment is now being “put under a severe trial.”
Ostermann, who is scheduled to begin her new role July 1, has authored and co-authored multiple essays published in outlets like Salon and the Chicago Tribune, expressing radical commitment to the cause of legalized abortion.
Her past statements include calling unwanted pregnancy and childbirth "violence against women" and abortion bans "traumatic sexual abuse.” She has written that opposition to abortion has “roots in white supremacy and racism,” a claim Fr. Miscamble called “a gross slander, especially in light of Planned Parenthood’s well-known targeting of poor and minority neighborhoods.”
Fr. Miscamble pointed out that Ostermann bears a “special animosity” towards crisis pregnancy centers, repeatedly branding them as "anti-abortion rights propaganda sites" that provide "false information," lure women under false pretenses, and commit "medical fraud.”
He wrote that Ostermann has invoked Catholic social teaching to argue in favor of abortion rights. He quoted her as saying that “abortion access is freedom-enhancing, in the truest sense of the word,” and as describing abortion as “consistent with integral human development that emphasizes social justice and human dignity.”
Fr. Miscamble wrote, “There can be no dispute that Ostermann stands in stark contrast to fundamental Catholic moral teaching on the sacredness of human life.” He noted that a 2022 article by Ostermann prompted then-university president Fr. John Jenkins to say publicly that the essay “did not reflect the views and values of the University of Notre Dame in its tone, arguments or assertions.”
“And yet, somehow,” the university’s leadership “deem her worthy to head an institute at Notre Dame,” he wrote.
The op-ed also raised concerns about Ostermann’s work as a consultant for the Population Council, an organization founded by John D. Rockefeller III that has promoted population-control policies internationally. Fr. Miscamble said the council’s record — including its influence on China’s former one-child policy — should have disqualified Ostermann from leading an institute focused on Asia.
“Given the demographic issues that certain Asian countries now confront,” he wrote, “the Liu Institute must be led by a scholar who understands well the disastrous course that has been perpetrated by organizations like the Population Council. Susan Ostermann cannot do that.”
University officials have argued that Ostermann can separate her personal views from her professional responsibilities, according to Fr. Miscamble. He rejected that reasoning as “specious.”
Fr. Miscamble said several senior faculty members asked administrators to rescind the appointment, but those requests were denied. He said he has since appealed to Notre Dame’s Board of Fellows — a 12-member body composed of six Holy Cross priests and six lay members — urging them to intervene to preserve the university’s Catholic character.
“If this sad appointment is allowed to stand,” Fr. Miscamble wrote, “the hollowness of the claim that Catholic character informs all Notre Dame’s endeavors will be painfully exposed.”
He warned that failing to act could discourage priests in formation and damage trust among faculty, students, and alumni. The six Holy Cross priests on the board, he added, carry a “special responsibility” to act.
“This scandalous appointment should never have been made,” he wrote, “but it will be truly damaging to the Holy Cross Order if it is allowed to stand.”
“Our younger religious and men in formation will be deeply discouraged by a failure to act,” Fr. Miscamble wrote. “They and other good-hearted faculty, students, and alumni will see that six Holy Cross priests refuse to take up the responsibility to maintain Notre Dame’s Catholic character and mission. May they have the wisdom to see the right course and the courage to act upon it.”