A very small poll

This weekend I zoomed to help sick priest who called me a plea for help. In I came for some innings of relief pitching: the Sunday Masses.

After the Sunday Masses, in casual conversation, I found three alumni of Notre Dame.

All three of them had, as alumni, given money to Notre Dame.

All three of them had, as alumni, been especially angry over Notre Dame’s decision to honor the most aggressive pro-abortion politician with real power we may have ever seen.

All three of them said, as alumni, they would never again send money.

Small parish in a midwestern city. 

Normal people after Sunday Masses. 

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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21 Comments

  1. mrsmontoya says:

    Fr., see? The real Church is here. Fire is refining us. Our impurities are being burned out. It hurts, but the Church will shine even brighter because of it.

    Thank you for sharing!

  2. DarkKnight says:

    Your small poll shows a larger price tag.

    How about $13.9 million in verified withheld donations since the invitation was extended.

    We need to see how big the research grant that Obama throws ND to offset. Manus manum lavat!

  3. gcm says:

    Instead of just withholding donations, how about directing them to more deserving colleges? A couple come to mind:

    – Thomas Aquinas College
    – Wyoming Catholic College (just starting out, they could use the help)

  4. Matt says:

    No offense, but wouldn’t I be able to assume that if Fr Z was filling in at the parish it’s probably slightly more conservative leaning than a lot of places?

  5. Karlo says:

    What about those students — disappointed by recent events yet fully committed to seeking a true and faithful Catholic education at Notre Dame (yes, this is possible) — whose precious scholarship dollars are being ripped away because of benefactors such as these? It seems that attention is not being given to that small but strong (and growing) group of faculty who are faithful to the Gospel and the Church. The same goes for those students who have decided not to abandon all hope but have committed their time and energies to pursuing an authentic Catholic education at Our Lady’s University, given the ample resources and opportunities.

    Why not direct these dollars to needy and deserving students? Why not direct them to events like the annual Eucharistic procession, or the restoration and upkeep of residence hall chapels, or to the pro-life organizations on campus? Are the faithful willing to abandon their brothers and sisters in Christ who are faithfully striving to serve God in the classrooms, dining halls, and dormitories of Notre Dame?

    Please, do not condemn those students who, despite the unwise decisions of those in places of authority, have committed themselves to fighting the good fight.

  6. John6:54 says:

    It seems the faithful are willing to take action with their wallets, when are those in authority going to take action?

  7. Matt: It’s not the parish, it’s the people. The key is that these were Catholics AT Sunday Mass. Assuming they are being properly instructed, and knowing the priest of the parish I’m SURE they are not getting any softballs from him (I pray he is well soon) these are solid Catholics.

    For every one of these I still see two ND alumni who are pleased Obama spoke there. But, the fact that they are alumni does not necessarily equate to Magisterium Catholicity.

    In fact there was an ND flag flying at a house on Hampden Park area of St. Paul over the weekend. I’ve never seen it at that house before so I’m sure it was a deliberate statement of “joy” about Obama speaking.

    However, I’m overjoyed over the fact that so many Catholics are finally speaking up even if I still think the truly faithful are a remnant at ND-alumni or active students.

  8. michigancatholic says:

    Karlo,
    Things are tough all over. Maybe the students you’re so worried about ought to transfer to a Catholic university and get their money’s worth. Or they could go to a good public university and get twice the education at half the price.

  9. Lee says:

    Dark Knight,

    Notre Dame’s website shows that it has the 13th largest endowment of US universities, and Wikipedia indicates that is on the order of $7 Billion dollars. Check my math, but “The $13.9 million in verified withheld donations since the invitation was extended” is about .002 percent of its endowment.

    Besides that, did you hear the applause that Fr Jenkins and Obama received from the class of 2009? However wroth some alumni maybe over Fr Jenkin’s decision, the financial impact on Notre Dame is going to be negligible. They have, and probably always will have more money than they know what to do with.

    And more’s the pity, too.

  10. Jeff says:

    As a “Catholic” university grad myself, I can’t disagree more with Karlo’s concern for tuition costs. Bishop Sheen said it well: better to attend a public university where you know they are attacking the Faith than a private one where they are modernists destroying it from within (paraphrased). I was naive and convinced that what I learned there was the future of the Church. It aided me (although it was all my fault) in leaving the Faith for a few years before I reverted through God’s grace (and the scary Hell scene in Constantine).

    Besides, $14 million sends a message, but is not a lot in the grand scheme of things. Think Obama can’t call a couple donors and make that up immediately?

  11. Gary says:

    My poll was matching yours until recently when I encountered a family I know that had sent 2 sons through ND at the same time I attended. I foolishly assumed some common ground since we had just gotten out of Mass and I brought up how unhappy I was with ND due to the Obama mess. They quickly informed me that they were absolutely fine with it as they had voted for Obama–end of conversation.

  12. Rancher says:

    I guess I’m inclined to take a very hard line position. If a college/university isn’t truely Catholic–i.e. it fails to adhere in all respects to the teachings of the Church then it is not worth attending and not worth supporting in any way. I have a daughter who is a sophomore in high school. Who knows where she will go to college? I know where she won’t and that is her choice not mine. She will not go to any so-called Catholic college that is of the sort NDU, Loyola of LA etc are. We have already visited Wyoming Catholic and contribute to it. It and a small handfull of good Catholic colleges and universities are worthy of the name, worthy of attending, and worthy of financial support. The battle line was drawn by ND on behalf of most same minded “catholic” colleges. It isn’t nor should it be, just about ND. It is about ALL so-called “catholic” colleges which suffer from the same lack of adherence to true Church teaching. ND should have cost both itself and others $$$ and support.

  13. Mitchell NY says:

    The sad thing is that the legacy of this event will be diorientation and confusion within the ranks who attend this school or work for it as to what it really stands for anymore..Its’ prestige and reputation have been damaged for a long time to come, maybe forever…There will be no statistics to show what students of the future went elsewhere. And in the end, what was accomplished. Obama is gone, his degree on the wall and many broken hearted parents who supported their children’s brave decision not to attend their ceremony will live with this saddness. I guess the final question to ask is whether many hundreds and the invisible thousands of people who suffered grief was worth Obama’s happiness. And to those who were happy he came, I bet they would have been just as happy with someone else had they been invited instead of Obama..Of course before his invitation, not had it been recinded. Then the bottom line falls to the Father who invited him and brought much saddness to a graduating class. Was this necessary for the good of the souls in his flock? How he could possibly answer yes to this, would be the epitomy of arrogance.

  14. moon1234 says:

    There is another Matt posting now so I will use this nick from now on.

    There are MANY Catholic colleges that adhere to what the church teaches. The church would do itself good to strip Notre Dame of it’s official Catholic identity. If it does not the church will appear to not care to the vast majority of Catholics. It is table turning time in the temple.

    We need to send out dollars to those institutions who actually RESPECT the church and her teachings.

  15. TerryC says:

    I couldn’t agree more and will be striking a check to Franciscan University myself.

  16. Dino says:

    Only rarely in my lifetime have I had the privilege of being on the campus of a college theat claimed to be Catholic. I sent off all I could afford this morning to Thomas Aquinas in Santa Paula, Calif., which didn’t exist when I was young.

  17. Max says:

    If people are looking for a Catholic college to donate money to, I humbly suggest Christendom College in Front Royal, VA.

  18. Papa Z says:

    I strongly suspect that Fr. Z’s “very small poll” is being mirrored all over the country. The 13.9 million is probably only a fraction of monies being withheld or re-directed. If one letter to an editor, or one call to a radio station represents 99 others who do not write or who do not call, the real amount could well be ten times or more the 13.9 million. I have eight children — and I don’t foresee any of them attending Notre Dame, at least not while Fr. Jenkins is president.

  19. Peter says:

    While ND was honoring Obama, little Magdalen College in N.H. last month honored Cardinal Arinze, recently retired from the Congregation of Divine Worship. Magdalen is one of the growing number of faithful Catholic colleges that is worthy of support.

  20. michigancatholic says:

    I’ve taken some classes from Franciscan University in Steubenville. They’re not perfect but they are much more orthodox than ND. If you have $ to donate, or kids to educate, they’d be a better choice.

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