(LifeSiteNews) — Resistance to the University of Notre Dame’s scandalous decision to promote a pro-abortion professor to lead its Asian Studies institute shows no signs of slowing down.
On Friday, February 27, students will hold a “March on the Dome” in what will be the latest escalation in the ongoing battle to prevent Professor Susan Ostermann’s appointment to head the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies.
The march will begin at 6 p.m. EST at the Main Circle on the school’s South Bend, Indiana, campus and end at a stage on the South Quad. According to an email sent by The Sycamore Trust, the march is being organized by two students, Luke Woodyard and Gabe Ortner. The Sycamore Trust is an alumni group that seeks to protect Notre Dame’s Catholic identity.
Ortner was quoted in the email as having described Ostermann’s appointment as “the last straw in a long series of University actions counter to Notre Dame’s Catholic identity.” Woodyard noted that Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend Bishop Kevin Rhoades “did not urge us to sit silently and watch our Lady’s University fall before our eyes; he gave us a clear call to action.”
Other groups sponsoring the march include Notre Dame Right to Life, Knights of Columbus Council 1477, The Irish Rover newspaper, Students for Child-Oriented Policy (SCOP), Militia of the Immaculata, and Children of Mary. Longtime Notre Dame professor Fr. Bill Miscamble, CSC will lead a blessing of candles while the Rosary will be prayed at the school’s famous Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes after several students address those who gather at the rally.
Notre Dame administrators have steadfastly refused to listen to the growing number of voices, both laity and clergy, who are demanding Ostermann not be given the promotion. Over the last several weeks, multiple bishops have publicly applauded Rhoades for his defense of the faith.
Bishop Michael Olson of Fort Worth, Texas, published a post on social media platform X stating that he supports Rhoades’ efforts and that Notre Dame should rescind Ostermann’s appointment. Bishop Robert Barron also weighed in on the matter. In a lengthy X post, he noted that Ostermann is “not simply ‘pro-choice’ on the question of abortion; she is a sharp critic of the pro-life position and those who advocate it.” He added that her promotion would be “repugnant to the identity and mission of that great center of Catholic learning.”
Other prominent clergy have jumped in the fray as well. Archbishop Paul Coakley, who began serving as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in November, said in an X post, “I fully support Bishop Kevin Rhoades in his challenge to Notre Dame to rectify its poor judgment in hiring a professor who openly stands against Catholic teaching when it comes to the sanctity of life, in this case protection of the unborn.” Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, also issued a statement backing Rhoades’ efforts.
Despite the criticisms, the university has issued a statement defending Ostermann, whom it has described as a “highly regarded political scientist and legal scholar.” Ostermann has said that “abortion access is freedom-enhancing,” that “forced pregnancy and childbirth are violence against women,” and that banning chemical abortion pills “would be a terrible policy choice and violate human rights.”
READ: USCCB president joins bishops calling on Notre Dame to demote pro-abortion professor
But pro-lifers at the school are not backing down. On X Saturday, Notre Dame College Republicans called out dissident clergy for not prioritizing life.
“The modern Church pays only lip service to real matters of faith such as contraception, homosexuality, etc, while going all-in on climate change and mass migration,” the group said.
Unfortunately true. The modern Church pays only lip service to real matters of faith such as contraception, homosexuality, etc, while going all-in on climate change and mass migration. https://t.co/TfyqFWR2Jx
— Notre Dame College Republicans (@NDRepublicans) February 21, 2026
Earlier this month, the executive committee of the student-run Notre Dame Right to Life called on the university to rescind the appointment. In a statement published in The Observer, the school’s most prominent newspaper, the board said Ostermann’s advocacy contradicts the Catholic Church’s view that abortion is an intrinsic evil. The group pointed to 11 op-ed pieces Ostermann wrote in the past. In one particular piece for left-leaning website Salon, she claimed that defending the sanctity of life is rooted in “white supremacy” and “racism.”
Two scholars at the school have already resigned from their roles with the institute out of protest. Robert Gimello, research professor emeritus of theology, told current Liu Institute head Michel Hockx he was resigning “in dismay” over Ostermann’s appointment. He also requested his name and photo be removed from the institute’s roster. Diane Desierto, a professor of law and global affairs, informed Fox News that she resigned from her positions as faculty fellow and member of the institute’s Faculty Executive Committee.
The controversy over Ostermann’s appointment comes just several months after Notre Dame dropped then re-added language about staff needing to support its Catholic mission, a requirement that had previously been in place for two decades.
Students at Notre Dame continue to highlight the disconnect with administrators. After a major snowstorm last month, residents of Coyle Hall built “St. Olaf’s ice chapel” on campus. More than 1,600 students attended Mass there, garnering national attention. News of the “ice chapel” spread quickly. National Review Online reporter Alexandra DeSanctis Marr noted the chasm between the faith of students and the decisions of administrators.
“A school where students build a basilica out of ice and 2,000 kids stand outside it to attend Mass is not a school that should be promoting pro-abortion leaders. Why do Notre Dame students take Catholicism more seriously than ND’s leaders?” she asked on social media.
JD Flynn of The Pillar also praised the event. “The faith of these students is really beautiful,” he said on X.
Whether Notre Dame administrators will listen to their own students as well as to the hierarchy of the Catholic Church remains to be seen. Today, The Sycamore Trust will reportedly issue a public statement calling on the school to withdraw Ostermann’s appointment. That development, along with the “March on the Dome” this Friday, may be what is needed to ensure university president Father Robert Dowd, CSC does the right thing.