A Catholic women’s college in Indiana reversed its decision to allow transgender applicants after a month of backlash, admitting that it “lost people’s trust and unintentionally created division,” even as the college’s president defended the inclusion policy.
Notre Dame-based St. Mary’s College announced in November that it “will consider undergraduate applicants whose sex assigned at birth is female or who consistently live and identify as female” in 2024.
But on Thursday morning, President Katie Conboy sent an email to faculty confirming that the board decided to return to its original policy of accepting only biological women.
“This has weighed heavily on our minds and hearts,” Conboy wrote in the email, originally obtained by the Daily Signal.
“There have been many voices responding to us from many places and perspectives. “We have listened carefully and we have listened to each of you,” she continued.
“Some were concerned that this was much more than a political decision: they felt it was a dilution of our mission or even a threat to our Catholic identity.
“Furthermore, we clearly underestimated our community’s genuine desire to participate in the policy-shaping process of such importance.
“As the last month has unfolded, we have lost people’s trust and inadvertently created a divide where we expected this to happen, we are deeply sorry.
St. Mary’s College President Katie Conboy sent faculty an email Thursday announcing that the board of trustees reversed its decision to allow transgender applicants. Saint Mary’s College
“Taking all of these factors into account, the Board has decided that we will return to our previous admissions policy.”
But Conboy defended the transgender admissions policy, writing: “When the board approved this update, we saw it as a reflection of our university’s commitment to living our Catholic values as a just and loving community. “We believed it affirmed our identity as an inclusive Catholic university for women.”
“While this has been a challenging time for our community, we believe the university must continually grapple with the complexity of living our Catholic values in a changing world. But we also believe that the University should do it as a community,” he continued.
“The Board and Administration are firmly committed to ensuring a welcoming and safe environment for all.
“To this end, beginning in January, we will host a series of listening sessions, both on campus and online for our extended family, to explore what it means to embrace our values as a Catholic women’s university.
“We will continue to work to understand how a university like ours can become a true home, a place of open doors and open arms, where everyone belongs, with all their differences intact.”
The Notre Dame, Indiana-based Catholic school announced last month that it “will consider undergraduate applicants whose sex assigned at birth is female or who consistently live and identify as female” in 2024. Saint Mary’s College
The policy change reportedly came after Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend met with Conboy and Sister M. Veronique, president of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, to discuss the policy of transgender admission, according to the student-run newspaper. the observer.
He had previously issued a statement saying university officials did not consult with him before making the policy change and said it fundamentally departed from Catholic teachings on the nature of women.
“Calling itself a ‘women’s college’ and admitting male students who ‘consistently live and identify as women’ suggests that the university affirms a gender ideology that separates sex from gender and asserts that sexual identity is based on subjective experience.” of the woman. individual,” Rhoades argued in his statement.
Students at the university also said they were not included in the conversation about accepting transgender applicants, and several alumnae even suspended their donations to their alma mater in response.
After Conboy announced the school would reverse its decision, many spoke with relief.
“I am so proud of the women at St. Mary’s who were willing to stand up against this anti-Catholic, anti-women policy,” Claire Bettag, a junior at the school, told the Daily Signal.
“God’s truth will always prevail.”
Catholic students and leaders spoke out against the transgender admissions policy, and some alumni even suspended their donations. Saint Mary’s College
Claire Ath, who graduated in 2018, also explained: “When this admissions decision was made public, hundreds of alumni came together to defend the Church and its teachings.
“While I hope the reversal is because the administrators realized that we must teach the truth in love, I assume the reversal is because the alumni banded together, withdrew their donations, notified their diocese and the media, and They said we will not allow our lady’s university to be corrupted. by secular gender ideology.”
The news of the reversal was also celebrated by Catholic leaders.
“This is a very smart reversal and a welcome affirmation of the need to protect the purpose and integrity of a Catholic women’s college,” said Brian Burch, president of Catholic Vote.
“There is nothing unfair or discriminatory about protecting women from men who seek to redefine biological reality,” she said.
“To be Catholic is to recognize the truth about ourselves, including the unique and complementary roles of men and women. We must resist those who seek to blur that trust.
“Street. Mary’s College is to be commended for coming to its senses,” Burch said.
But not everyone agreed, and Faithful America, a Christian organization fighting for social justice, expressed surprise at the reversal of the transgender policy, which it supported.
“News of St. Mary’s painful change broke just as Faithful America was preparing to send the College thousands of predominantly Catholic signatures thanking it for its now-revoked historic and Christian inclusivity,” WSBT reports.
“The change is heartbreaking,” he said.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn