CV NEWS FEED // A Catholic women’s college on Thursday rescinded its updated nondiscrimination policy that opened admission to biological men who identified as female, citing a “sense of division” as the reason for returning to the former policy.
CatholicVote reported that Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana, came under fire in November for opening admission to applicants who “consistently live and identify as women.”
“When the Board approved this update, we viewed it as a reflection of our College’s commitment to live our Catholic values as a loving and just community,” read an internal email to the Saint Mary’s college community on December 21, which was posted to X by an alumna. “We believed it affirmed our identity as an inclusive, Catholic, women’s college.”
In the email, Board of Trustees Chair Maureen Karantz Smith and President Katie Conboy stated that the college received backlash from students and alumnae concerning the updated policy.
“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,” Smith and Conboy wrote. “Moreover, we clearly underestimated our community’s genuine desire to be engaged in the process of shaping a policy of such significance.”
They continued:
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. Taking all these factors into consideration, the Board has decided that we will return to our previous admission policy.
Smith and Conboy added that moving forward, the college will focus on interacting “as a community” on a “journey toward equity, inclusion, and justice.” To foster a welcoming environment, the Board plans to introduce “listening sessions” in January “to explore what it means to embrace our values as a Catholic, women’s college.”
The college’s decision to walk back the policy comes after Conboy emailed students last week and asked for their feedback.
Conboy also announced last week that she was in “ongoing dialogue” with Bishop Kevin Rhoades, bishop of the diocese where Saint Mary’s is located, to discuss the implications of the policy. Rhoades had previously criticized the policy, saying that it contradicted Church teaching on sexuality.
