St. Mary’s College, a women’s college in Notre Dame, Indiana, announced that it would admit all students who identified as women.
Kevin Rhoades, the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of South Bend, Indiana, objected to the new policy in a public letter. Bishop Rhodes stated that “the desire of Saint Mary’s College to show hospitality to people who identify as transgender is not the problem. The problem is a Catholic woman’s college embracing a definition of woman that is not Catholic.” He urged the board of trustees to reverse the new policy.
In an email to the college’s community, Saint Mary’s College President Katie Conboy said the university is reverting back to its prior policy of only admitting biological women. “Some worried that this was much more than a policy decision: they felt it was a dilution of our mission or even a threat to our Catholic identity,” President Conboy said. “Moreover, we clearly underestimated our community’s genuine desire to be engaged in the process of shaping a policy of such significance. As this last month unfolded, we lost people’s trust and unintentionally created division where we had hoped for unity. For this, we are deeply sorry.”