Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, recently joined several other bishops in denouncing the University of Notre Dame’s granting of a leadership role to an outspokenly pro-abortion professor, calling the move “very unsettling and very disappointing.”
Bishop Burbidge discussed Susan Ostermann’s appointment as director of the university’s Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies during a Feb. 17 episode of his “Walk Humbly” podcast, saying that Notre Dame’s decision sends concerning messages about its commitment to its Catholic mission and identity.
“Professor Ostermann’s advocacy for abortion, her disparaging characterizations of the pro-life movement, are simply incompatible … with the mission of the Catholic Church and this institution, Notre Dame,” he said.
Bishop Burbidge said that Ostermann’s views go against Catholic teaching on human life, which demands that life from the moment of conception must be protected, celebrated, and defended. He added that her position as a leader is a reflection of the university’s mission rather than of academic freedom.
“I don’t think the leadership has any choice but to reconsider this appointment,” he said.
Bishop Burbidge’s message follows those of his fellow bishops Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, and Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, as well as that of Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver.
As Zeale News previously reported, Bishop Barron posted on X that in addition to being pro-abortion, Ostermann is also a “sharp critic of the pro-life position and those who advocate it.” Bishop Barron said that she believes the pro-life movement has racist and white supremacist motivations and insinuates that the Catholic Church’s commitment to integral human development includes abortion.
Bishop Rhoades, who heads the diocese in which Notre Dame is located, issued a statement Feb. 11 saying that the appointment “is causing scandal to the faithful of our diocese and beyond.”
“Because I have the particular responsibility as Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend ‘to promote and assist in the preservation and strengthening’ of the Catholic identity of Catholic universities within my diocese, I call upon the leadership of Notre Dame to rectify this situation,” Bishop Rhoades stated. “The appointment of Professor Ostermann is not scheduled to go into effect until July 1, 2026. There is still time to make things right.”