“Our words are buttressed by our deeds, and our deeds are inspired by our convictions.” – Fr. Hesburgh
The recent election of former President Donald Trump will have effects on the country as a whole, but for Notre Dame, one step should be abundantly clear: Father Dowd should invite vice president-elect J. D. Vance to deliver the 2025 commencement address.
Notre Dame has a tradition of honoring sitting U.S. presidents or vice presidents with awards and invitations to deliver the commencement address. During the past two presidential administrations, then-university president Father John Jenkins, C.S.C. extended the invite during their first year in office.
Past commencement speakers have also included Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and Barack Obama.
In 2009, Barack Obama spoke at Notre Dame’s commencement ceremony, prompting legitimate outrage from students, professors, and alumni because of his outspoken pro-abortion sentiments.
In 2016, Notre Dame controversially honored then-vice president Joe Biden with the Laetare Medal, described as the “most prestigious award given to American Catholics.” The recipient is a Catholic “whose genius has ennobled the arts and sciences, illustrated the ideals of the Church, and enriched the heritage of humanity.”
Notre Dame then invited Biden in 2021 to be the commencement speaker during his first year as president. Due to scheduling conflicts, he did not deliver the address.
Despite Joe Biden’s position as a “Catholic” public figure, his actions as vice-president and president have been anything but illustrative of “the ideals of the Church.” His rampant support for unchecked abortion, contraception, and LGBT rights are only a few examples of the scandalous divides between Catholic teaching and Democratic policy.
And in 2023, Pope Francis called Biden’s support of abortion rights an “incoherence.”
But now, the election of the Trump-Vance ticket presents Notre Dame with the opportunity to invite a faithful Catholic to deliver the 2025 commencement address.
Vance, raised largely by his Christian grandmother, converted to Catholicism in 2019. In an interview shortly after his conversion, Vance spoke extensively about his spiritual journey to Catholicism, which was largely intellectual in motivation. He shared his personal devotion to St. Augustine, saying he “gave me a way to understand Christian faith in a strongly intellectual way.”
Vance, unlike Biden, is a pro-life politician, defending the teachings of the Catholic Church that defend the human dignity of all human life from conception to natural death. In the same interview, Vance said, “[My views on public policy] was one of the things that drew me to the Catholic Church. I saw a real overlap between what I would like to see and what the Catholic Church would like to see. I hope my faith makes me more compassionate and to identify with people who are struggling.”
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a non-profit pro-life organization, gave Vance an “A+” rating for his pro-life legislation, saying he “has voted consistently to defend the lives of the unborn and infants.”
Vance is also strong in his defense of religious liberty. At an October rally held in Wisconsin, he said, “We cannot have an American government that is persecuting Christians for living their faith. We should be rewarding people and encouraging people to live their faith.”
This is not to say that Vance’s political stances have been perfect, nor will he be perfect during his term as vice president. During the campaign, his support of IVF and the abortion pill mifepristone concerned Catholics—and for good reason. These positions ought to be condemned wholeheartedly, and Catholics ought not distinguish between political parties in their criticism of immoral policies.
But Vance’s rare deviation from Catholic teaching differs significantly from Biden’s. For Biden, abortion access is a centerpiece of his politics, and he has touted it proudly. On the other hand, Vance’s fluctuation on the abortion issue is a limiting factor of a policy platform that is, as a whole, vehemently pro-life and pro-family.
Vance himself is open about the challenges of being a faithfully Catholic politician: “At a fundamental level, being in public life is in part a popularity contest. When you’re trying to do things that make you liked by as many people as possible, you’re not likely to do things that are consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church. I’m a Christian, and a conservative, and a Republican, so I have definite views about what that means. But you have to be humble, and realize that politics are essentially a temporal game.”
Notre Dame is inseparably involved in U.S. politics. She seeks to form students, who, instructed by their faith, become forces for good in the world. Inviting Vance to be the commencement speaker would demonstrate the importance for Notre Dame students to let their Catholic faith be the guiding force in their lives. It would show students that one does not have to sacrifice one’s faith to be successful, and further, that all success is ultimately rooted in living out the faith.
As the nation’s leading Catholic university, Notre Dame has the responsibility to prepare its students to be leaders of the country, presenting them with role models of statesmanship and virtue.
At the 2025 commencement ceremony, J. D. Vance would be just that.
Bridgette Rodgers is a junior studying political science and theology. She would like to personally invite vice president-elect J. D. Vance to speak to the writers of the Rover. His team can reach her at brodger4@nd.edu.
Photo Credit: Matthew Rice
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