The “March on the Dome” scheduled for the evening of Feb. 27 is no longer a protest, but a prayerful event of gratitude following the Feb. 26 news that a pro-abortion associate professor has declined to head one of Notre Dame University’s institutes, one of the event’s student organizers told Zeale News.
The march was originally meant as a protest against the appointment of Associate Professor Susan Ostermann as director of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies. Students Luke Woodyard and Gabe Ortner had organized the event alongside Notre Dame Right to Life, the Knights of Columbus Council 1477, The Irish Rover newspaper, and other student groups. Several speakers, including Right to Life President Anna Kelley, were slated to address those present, as Zeale News reported.
The independent student publication The Observer reported Feb. 27 that the event, which is now a prayer service, will no longer include the speeches, and that the speakers plan to speak out in publications such as The Observer at a later date, according to Woodyard. He told the outlet that at the event, attendees would sing Marian hymns and carry blessed candles in a procession to the campus grotto.
Woodyard told Zeale News in a Feb. 27 email statement that the change in the event’s focus does not mean the concerns are no longer present, but the event is no longer the proper place to address them.
“The issue has not changed, but the time for making our statements has. Having speeches at this event, demanding University action would be in poor taste and honestly ungrateful,” he said.
He emphasized that those who attend will be praying for the university’s future.
“We needed to shift this event to be an event of gratitude,” he said. “Those grievances still need to be aired, but this is neither the time nor the place. This will be an opportunity to pray for the future of Notre Dame. That the priests, faculty, and students continue to live the gospel in word and deed.”
Earlier this week, Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend led students in praying the Rosary at the campus grotto for the school’s Catholic identity to be preserved. He had also previously vocally opposed the appointment of Ostermann, warning that her pro-abortion advocacy made her unqualified for the position at the institute and calling on the university to “rectify the situation.” Several bishops across the country subsequently expressed support for Bishop Rhoades’ statement.
Zeale News reported Feb. 26 that in declining the appointment, Ostermann stated, “The focus on my appointment risks overshadowing the vital work the Institute performs, which should be allowed to continue without undue distraction.”
Woodyard said in a Feb. 26 statement to Zeale News that though the development was a victory, the withdrawal was a “calculated play” by the associate professor and her supporters “to lower the University outrage and retain her authority at Notre Dame.”
He noted that Ostermann “will remain as a professor perpetuating a culture of death within Notre Dame’s walls.”
Woodyard also emphasized the power of prayer in his Feb. 26 statement. A number of students, alumni, pro-life groups, and others had spoken out against the appointment after it was announced in January. Woodyard congratulated the students and pro-life advocates who applied “the vital pressure” that led to Ostermann declining the position.
“Your prayer is heard by God,” he said.