There’s an old saying: What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. It means one person or situation should be treated the same way that another person or situation is treated. Last week a situation arose which calls the ethics of the president of a major college into question.
Lou Holtz said in endorsing Trump at the RNC, [Trump is] “…a consistent winner, an outstanding leader [who] deserves to be reelected as our president… There’s a statue of me at Notre Dame… I guess they needed a place for the pigeons land, but if you look closely, you will see these three words there: trust, commitment, and love. All my life, I’ve made my choices based on these three words. I use these three rules to make choices about everything…”
Holtz went on to call the Joe Biden–Kamala Harris ticket “…the most radically pro-abortion campaign in history” and suggested that Biden is “Catholic in name only” because he has “abandoned innocent lives.”
The University President
Notre Dame president Fr. John Jenkins has come out with a statement. It disavows the former football coach’s remarks.
“… While Coach Lou Holtz is a former coach at Notre Dame, his use of the University’s name at the Republican National Convention must not be taken to imply that the University endorses his views, any candidate or any political party… Moreover, we Catholics should remind ourselves that while we may judge the objective moral quality of another’s actions, we must never question the sincerity of another’s faith, which is due to the mysterious working of grace in that person’s heart.”
Yes, only God can judge the heart of another man. But why then did the good Father choose to target Holtz for endorsing Trump? Is this consistent application of the church’s belief? It does seem odd. The university did honor a series of Democrat politicians. Thank you to Alexandra DeSanctis and National Review for the following examples.
Fr. John Jenkins is correct in his comment and inconsistent in its application
For example: In 2009 Notre Dame was host to newly inaugurated president Barack Obama. He was to address the university’s commencement ceremony. Notre Dame gave him an honorary degree. Did that not count as use of the university’s name for political gain?
Did the decision to do so rankle Catholic students, faculty, and alumni? Were they correct to object to a number of Obama’s policy stances? Did those stances directly contradict fundamental Church doctrine? Did Notre Dame’s leadership refuse to reconsider? What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
And how about in 2016 when the university honored then vice president Joe Biden? He is the recipient of the Laetare Medal. This is an award given each year to a public figure for excellence in Catholic leadership. Was this not another odd choice? Did it not seem to contradict Fr. Jenkins’s recent statement in rebuffing Holtz?
Throughout his long political career hasn’t Biden advanced policies that flout Church teaching? What is Biden’s position on the dignity of human life? Has he taken a stand on the nature of marriage as between one man and one woman? Where is Biden with respect to the rights of religious free exercise and conscience? Are those positions consistent with church dogma? What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
Three on a match
Most recently, Notre Dame’s Institute for Advanced Study named former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg as a faculty fellow. He comes on board for the coming academic year. This is despite the fact his political career has featured a number of policy positions. Those positions are direct contradiction of the Catholic Church’s teaching on key issues.
That Notre Dame’s leadership sees no problem with conferring honors on politicians. But perhaps, maybe those who controvert Church teaching were oversights, right? We would not want to judge too harshly. But wait, what purpose does a church have if not to provide consistent moral insight? What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
Yet the good Father went out of its way to disavow a former football coach. The offense? Mentioning his work at Notre Dame while endorsing Trump. The good Father’s action speaks volumes about the university’s priorities. The confessional is that way Father.