The dissimulation evident in the comments of Prof. Susan Ostermannquoted in The Observer, Jan. 30, gives new meaning to the phrase “Paris is well worth a Mass.” Her clever efforts to avoid addressing her strident pro-abortion advocacy can only be described as outright evasion.
In an effort to create an atmosphere of “mutual respect,” which she promises, one might ask if Prof. Ostermann is prepared to retract her view that the pro-life movement is associated with white supremacy. Does she still believe that crisis pregnancy centers – like our own Women’s Care Center – are propaganda fronts which mislead vulnerable women? Is she still of the view that easy access to abortion is an essential component of integral human development – supposedly the guiding principle of the Keough School? Is she willing to publicly disassociate herself from the disastrous human rights abuses and violations of the Population Council for which she served as a consultant?
The answer to these questions thus far is no, and that is why Susan Ostermann’s appointment to head the Liu Institute is untenable at a Catholic university like Notre Dame. Further, the lack of judgment as well as the failure to uphold Notre Dame’s Catholic mission demonstrated by those responsible for this disgraceful appointment must raise serious questions about their own suitability for the positions they presently occupy.
Fr. Bill Miscamble
Holy Cross Priest and Professor Emeritus of History
Jan. 30, 2026