Bob Burkett, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus

For the past year I have had the privilege of working with the Rover staff and it has been a pleasure continuing to grow with the community in each successive issue.

First, it is important to note that Notre Dame operates within a unique tension between the Catholic faith and the ways of the world. Christians are called to engage the world, but it is important that they do not conform, remaining distinct. Notre Dame’s attempt to carefully live in the world without conforming to it was most evident in the creation of an LGBTQ organization. While the pastoral plan “Beloved Friends and Allies” will be firmly rooted in the Catholic faith, it is important that the practical implementation and everyday function of the group are in conformity with the truths of the Catholic faith.

While this organization should be used to foster inclusion at Notre Dame by treating males and females with SSA as equals, it should not be used to condone acting on SSA. Many are offended by this statement because they feel that the condemnation of acting on SSA is a condemnation of the individual who acts; however, a proper understanding of the Church teachings will make it clear that this is not the case. It is important to separate the subjective circumstances of the actor from the objective morality of the act. I do not struggle with SSA, nor can I ever comprehend all of the factors (life circumstances, past experiences, etc.) that have affected an individual with SSA throughout his or her life. The Church’s teaching accounts for this—subjective circumstances can limit the culpability of the actor who performs the action. This is why the Church has never definitively confirmed that any individual has been damned for eternity.

Yet despite the complexities of culpability faced by individual human circumstances, this does not change the objective morality of the act as something that is truly and definitively wrong. As such, when the Church condemns wrongdoing, it is criticizing the action more so than the actor. Almost every good person has performed evil acts in his life and has inclinations to do so; this does not make him a bad person nor this invite the personal condemnation of the Church. Life is too complex to easily classify individuals into “good” and “bad” categories, but the Church’s morality is fair in classifying actions in terms of “right” and “wrong.” Separating the action from the person expounds Catholic morality in an amenable fashion to those who claim Catholics are anti-gay—a claim which seems to imply the condemnation of the actors rather than the actions.

Similar to the tensions between Catholic morality and individuals with SSA, perhaps the tensions inherent in Notre Dame’s struggle to maintain a Catholic identity can be ironed out through a deeper intellectual exploration of what it means to be a Catholic university in an ever-changing world. If no deeper understanding of negotiating this tension can be gleaned from intellectual exploration, the University has a duty to err on the side of the Catholic Church and Ex Corde Ecclesiae would be the ideal model to do this.

Michael Bradley, Editor-in-Chief

Reflecting on the academic year, I can summarize it with one word: perspective.

There has certainly been no dearth of events this year that have required, or put things into, perspective for me. This year has been anything but dull – the presidential election (and its attendant stock arguments about abortion and other moral issues), the national discussion about the meaning of marriage, the Boston bombings, and the resignation of an old pope and the election of a new one are just a few events that attest to this.

A few such issues merit individual mention.

Pennsylvanian abortion practitioner Kermit Gosnell’s unthinkable and horrendous actions have gone largely unreported by major news outlets in the past three months, as his trial for various alleged crimes—including first degree murder and the killing of newborn babies by snipping their spinal cords with scissors—has gone unnoticed by too many. More shocking than the lack of state oversight of Gosnell’s practice is the media silence on what should not be kept quiet.

As the Supreme Court continues to hear oral arguments about whether it should redefine marriage for federal purposes through judicial fiat, the future of this bedrock societal institution hangs in the balance in a very real way. Many Americans dismiss as ridiculously wide of the mark at best and downright disingenuous at worst the argument that affirming male-male or female-female sexual relationships as marriages will strike a blow at the heart of an already shattered marriage culture. But such dismissals were common at each of the previous steps, all of which have proved disastrous to the marriage culture, as is borne out by numerous empirical data, to redefine marriage: no-fault divorce, the explosion of contraceptive use, an embrace of abortion as an acceptable, if regrettable, family practice, ideological movements that tore apart mother from child and both from father. Now the state is considering making fathers optional.

But cutting through the midst of the many rightfully controversial discussions have been remarkable displays of unity and compassion. Most recently, Notre Dame students and faculty gathered in the Geddes Hall chapel on a half-day’s notice to pray for those affected by the act of terror that shook Boston and the hearts of all Americans.

In the past, I’ve had a hard time reconciling all of the aforementioned events of a school year, understanding them in light of each other. But this year I’ve learned many a life lesson: about discernment, about my relationships, about my own failings, about the complex nature of every person’s faith journey.

I owe a great deal to a certain group of adults for teaching me humility, one of the greatest forms of wisdom—“humility is nothing but the truth,” as St. Vincent de Paul once said; people without whose guidance, wisdom, mentorship and prayers I would be a very sad person. The older I get, the more I learn from my parents (Mom, take note of this. . .). I am blessed to know so many wonderful Holy Cross priests who dedicate their lives to “humble labor in God’s vineyard,” as Fr. Drew Gawrych likes to say. I am grateful to all my professors, but most especially to Monsignor Michael Heintz, Cyril O’Regan, John Cavadini, David Fagerberg and John O’Callaghan for opening my mind  to so much new knowledge and for being powerful witnesses and role models to the Catholic faith.

Notre Dame is far from perfect, as any reader of the Rover will surely pick up on. It’s not difficult to be critical of a university with so much potential for good. But it’s impossible not to feel very blessed by the wonderful people and efforts to be found at Our Lady’s university. It’s important to keep that in perspective.