Father Hesburgh . . .
**Your "Letter from Campus -- Happy 90th" recalled just a few memorable events in which
Father Hesburgh played a key role. Whether it was the 1967 Land O'Lakes Statement, the lay
board of trustees, the March for Peace (in which he walked with students), service on the U.S.
Civil Rights Commission, the "15-minute Rule," the enrolling of women undergrads in 1972 and
so many other significant events, he remained a person of conviction, values, leadership and
vision. His commitment and dedication to Notre Dame was reflected in all he did. As was
declared in the 1967 statement: "The Catholic university must be an institution, a community of
learners and scholars in which Catholicism is perceptibly present and effectively operative. . . .
[T]he Catholic university of the future will be a true modern university but specifically Catholic
in profound and creative ways for the service of society and the people of God."
Happy birthday, Father Ted, and thanks for the insights.
Donald A. Wich Jr. '69, '72J.D.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Read with interest your article in the spring issue of Notre Dame Magazine of Father Hesburgh’s
90th birthday. And thought you might find it interesting to read a quote from the biography of
Pope John Paul II entitled, Man of the Century. This was written by Jonathan Kwitney in 1997,
pages 333-34:
Another visitor at Castle Gandolfo that summer was Father Hesburgh, then President of
Notre Dame, the preeminent Catholic university in the United States. It was their first meeting,
though Father Hesburgh had often visited Paul VI. He recalls, “I went in (to John Paul) with six
points that were very important to me,” about a Theological Institute Hesburgh ran.
The Pope “had one book his desk an atlas.” Hesburgh says, “He wanted to know where
I’m from. I said the Archdiocese of Fort Wayne (Indiana: Notre Dame is in South Bend in that
Archdiocese). And he thought I was from Fort Worth (Texas). I spoke to him in Italian, but he
saw this as an opportunity to speak English. I came in with six points and didn’t get through to
him with any of them.”
Hesburgh says that over the years, he could never get John Paul engaged in a good
conversation. “One time I had just returned from China and started to tell him about the Church
in Peking. He just brushed it off, (saying) “Patriotic Church,” meaning loyal to the government.
It was obvious he wasn’t interested in talking about the “Church in China.” Hesburgh was
unaware that John Paul had secretly appointed a Chinese cardinal, misjudged the Pope’s interest
in China; the point, though, is that John Paul brushed off a major American Catholic
academician as not worth listening to . . .
It might be interesting to know Father Hesburgh’s views on John Paul’s papacy. You
might also be interested to know that my son Thomas, class of ‘72, was privileged to escort the
then cardinal on a tour of Saint Mary’s hospital in Chicago where he worked.
Michael A. Thompson
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Trai and I loved your “Happy 90th” on Father Ted. Just the right tone.
Chan Le
Palm Springs, California
. . . and one of the 'extraordinarily ordinary'
**For generations my family has had a profound connection to Notre Dame. Out of all the shared
family experiences, the story closest to my heart is one involving Father Hesburgh. My uncle
Tom Curry '49 was left for dead during the Battle of the Bulge but was later discovered alive
after the smoke cleared. He spent almost a year recuperating before being sent home, where he
had to relearn how to read and write. Although he was not back to 100 percent, Notre Dame
accepted Tom, and told my grandparents they would "take care of him." He was assigned to
Badin Hall and was aided there by a young rector -- Father Hesburgh, who wrote my
grandparents weekly, detailing the progress Uncle Tom was making and reassuring them they
had made the right decision.
Aside from provoking thought and continuing to educate us, Notre Dame Magazine shares and celebrates the actions of members of the Notre Dame family. But some alumni who
are "extraordinarily ordinary" never get into the magazine except for a death notice. The spring
issue brought the sad news of the death of Mike McArdle '78 -- a member of the Notre Dame
family who was extraordinarily ordinary, who worked hard, loved his family, was a good citizen.
He will be missed.
Fred Dalton '79
West Hartford, Connecticut
Patron saint
**Your article on the renovated student health center notes that it is named after Saint Liam (aka
Saint William of York) in honor of the father of the principal benefactor, William K. Warren Jr.
Mr. Warren also was the owner of the race horse, Saint Liam, voted "Horse of the Year" in 2005
after winning almost $4.5 million. Hopefully (and prayerfully) Saint William of York will watch
over the student health center with more attention than he did for his namesake horse, who was
euthanized last fall after suffering a broken leg.
Ralph T. Smith '55
Bemidji, Minnesota
Vietnam
**Reading the article by Lawrence Clayton ("Missing in Action") brought back memories of those
days as a Marine officer in Vietnam, serving as platoon commander in the Da Nang area in 1965.
We all believed there was a good reason for being in Vietnam -- to stop Communism. I didn't
know Jim Egan, but I knew many officers like him, and I lost some fellow officers in the war as
well. Forty-plus years later, I still vividly remember those days patrolling in the hills and jungles
of South Vietnam, and I remember the beautiful children and people we were able to help in civil
affairs and medical work. I was one of the lucky ones who returned home in one piece, but I still
grieve over the loss of so many of our American servicemen who gave their lives for our
country. As American servicemen, we knew America did not lose the war; our politicians pulled
out because of pressures on the homefront.
One Vietnamese child had a special and huge impact on our family. We adopted her in
1975, and today she has her own family and is a schoolteacher. God works in many ways.
Bill Yaley '63
Mariposa, California
**You may be interested to know there is another Notre Dame connection to the photo showing
Jim Egan and his fellow officers on page 37 of the spring issue. Standing to the far right is 1st Lt
Edward F. Hap, USMC, the beloved uncle of two ND grads, Andrea Hap Chustak '89 and me.
Lt. Hap, who grew up in East Chicago, Indiana, attended the University of Miami on a football
scholarship and graduated with a business degree, was killed in action July 20, 1966, two weeks
before his second tour of duty in Vietnam was to end. May God bless Major Egan, Uncle Eddie
and all those who have given their lives in service to our country.
Tonia Hap Murphy '84
Notre Dame
Global warming
** Bill McKibben's piece ("We Might Get Arrested") was one man's story of his political activism
to combat global warming, but it did not illuminate any facts related to the much-discussed
issues regarding the phenomenon. The Earth is warming. It has been warming since about 1700,
the middle of the last Ice Age. In fact, the Earth's temperature history closely tracks the cycles of
solar intensity. There are well-known mechanisms for anthropogenic contributions to global
warming. There are also feedback mechanisms, which tend to negate these changes. The
scientific issue is how to model all these phenomena, requiring massive computer models which,
while good technical work, result in a 100-year forecast so fraught with uncertainties as to make
results highly speculative. Many more aspects to the debate should be examined -- the health
implications of a warmer climate, the effect on the global food supply and biological diversity,
among others -- before anybody commits himself to political activism.
John C. Zink '65, '67M.S., '70Ph.D.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
"Desperation has at least the virtue of clarity.” So reads the last line of Bill McKibben’s polemic
on global warming. (“We Might Go To Jail.”) After reading the article I got the feeling that his
clarity came more from religious zeal than from scientific convention. Your vision is always
clearer when you sweep away the cloud of contradictory details.
When describing the day of a rally he states that “rain poured in Biblical quantities.” He
asks, “what would Jesus drive?” He declares that SUV drivers should feel guilty. For him the
whole environmental movement is a metaphor for religion — his conversion to the cause a
spiritual epiphany. (Is it just a coincidence that Al Gore is a failed divinity school student?)
There is nothing wrong with religion and nothing wrong with passion, but the global
climate change issue is about science, and we had better get it right. Carbon dioxide emissions
are just one piece of a puzzle that includes solar warming, the uncertain effects of cloud
formation, water vapor (the real 800-pound gorilla of greenhouse gases and one we can do little
or nothing about), volcanic eruptions, and other natural phenomena that scientists haven’t got a
handle on yet. If we oversimplify the problem we risk oversimplifying the solution, and that
could have drastic socio-economic consequences for the whole world.
McKibben and other well-meaning zealots like him have to be taken seriously because
they are dangerous. I am reminded of T. S. Elliot’s comment: “Half the harm that is done in the
world is due to people who want to feel important. They don’t mean to do harm — but the harm
does not interest them. Or they do not see it, or they justify it because they are absorbed in the
endless struggle to think well of themselves.”
Michael A. Freeman, MD, ‘64
Sanger, California
Ref. Bill Mckibben's article "we might get arrested" – do not agree with his conclusions on global
warming, but I do think he should organize his next walk in China.
Jack Robinson ’57
via email
The VT tragedy
**My daughter, Kathleen, just finished her freshman year at Virginia Tech. As you can imagine, it
was a terrible way to spend her first year in college. Last week, when I picked up Kathleen to
bring her home for the summer, she took me to the VT student center, which is a pretty large,
open building in the middle of campus. Every inch of wall space inside of this building is
covered with condolence messages from universities all around the country, and international as
well. It was overwhelming to see them: hundreds of posters and signs from so many schools.
Kathleen took me over to the main office, and there, behind glass, is a framed message from
Notre Dame. It was signed from every dorm, and included a photograph of the Grotto with
orange and maroon candles, VT's colors, for the victims. Forget football and all of its other
prestige, I have never been prouder to be a alum of Notre Dame than I was at that moment.
Bill Shults '78
Gaithersburg, Maryland
ND A to Z
I’ve just picked up a copy of the Spring 2007 issue, and I wanted to ask you to pass on my very
high compliments to Barbie Sloan on the “ND A to Z” photos on the back cover. That’s an
awesome piece of photographic work. I imagine that it took some time to get all those! Great
work!
Darrell Hoberer, MCSE
San Antonio, Texas
Editor's note: This was one of the many letters we received about the ND from A to Z photos on the back cover of the Spring 2007 issue. Many wanted to know if that cover would be released as a poster. The photographer, not the magazine, owns the rights to the photos. Currently we have no plans to turn it into a poster, but if that changes we will announce that on this website.
Some kudos ... and some complaints
Thank you for the quality of this Spring's issue of Notre Dame Magazine! From John Nagy's "A
Partnership with the Poor" to Anne Trubek's "My Blooming Bed of Conflict," the articles
reflected heavy doses of emotional intelligence, id est, empathy, compassion, and caring for
others and for nature. I shared with the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hidalco County,
Texas, this morning, the article by ND alumnus, Sonnie Hereford. In it, Mr. Hereford shared the
support of the Unitarians in Hunstville, Alabama, in the early 1960's, for black children who
needed to prepare for being integrated into schools which had been exclusively restricted to only
white children. As a small child, Sonnie Hereford was confronted at the school entrance by a
formidable obstacle, in the person of Governor George Wallace. A few days later, he enrolled in
the school, but he had been prepared by the Unitarian Play School, which he and three other
black children attended with about a dozen white children. "The purpose of the pre-school was to
enable us to get used to going to school together -- to show that children were just children" he
wrote in the magazine.
As a Notre Dame graduate student from 1949-1951, I joined a "Social Action Group" and
received guidance from Rev. Kuntz, then director of the Jeunes Ouvriers Chretiens (JOCists),
Young Christian Workers We brought ideas of Christ on social justice and the spiritual meaning
of work to workplaces in South Bend, some to Studebaker and to Bendix. With several other
JOCists, I worked at Drewey's Brewery which was then operating in South Bend. I remember
how we sat down with the workers at break time and discussed ideas, like the theme of this
spring's magazine, "What Am I Doing Here?". It was exciting. I also joined the Legion of Mary
in South Bend and visited weekly with inmates at the Saint Joseph County Jail in South Bend. I
was also blessed to meet my future wife, Clarice Mary Molenda, at Saint Mary's College. We
were married at Notre Dame in 1953. She died tragically of cancer in 1986. Sending my thanks
for continuing to inspire us ND graduates.
Arthur O. Linskey ’51M.A.
via email
I wanted to write to thank you for the two most recent issues of Notre Dame Magazine. Your
articles on Albert-László Barabási, Vittorio Hösle, profile of Rev. Jenkins, and article by Brad
Gregory highlighted the excellence of scholarship and spirit that are fundamentally characteristic
of a great Catholic university. I am both edified and encouraged by this new emphasis of your
magazine on intellectual excellence, and on the mature appreciation of the Catholic faith and
influence. I eagerly await your next issue.
Eileen Sheu ’96Ph.D.
via email
In addition to living this long and learning the earth is flat, I think the Spring 2007 issue of the ND Magazine is the best one ever published. Congratulations
to all.
Mike Wales
via email
I am a big fan of ND Magazine, but I feel obliged to give you some feedback. I found your
introduction to the Spring 2007 issue, on the inside front cover, to be inane. I cannot imagine
why you thought any reader could possibly be interested in all this. I suggest that you ask your
staff for some honest feedback.
On the other hand, I thoroughly appreciate your respectful, admiring but not overly gushy
article on Father Hesburgh. Thank you.
Patrick J. Roache '60, '63M.A., '68Ph.D.
via email
The spring issue is one of the best issues for me. It was a cover-to-cover issue. I appreciate the
efforts that are made by all on the staff to produce this high quality magazine. Thank you.
R.B. Schoeneman ’59
via email
My only complaint is your using random, though high-quality in most cases, freelancers who
have no ND connection. I live in Manhattan and am an editor of a weekly newspaper and am not
at all parochial or a Notre Dame nut. But even someone like Bill McKibben is available other
places. I can read all sorts of things like his online or in the Times Sunday Magazine or Harper's.
Keep up the wonderful work.
Bill Gunlocke '69
New York, New York
Your Spring 2007 issue was a good one, and I really enjoyed Emil T on the snow bench. I have
only seen him racing around; can't believe you got a still photo.
Also read your piece on the Hesburgh. You forgot to mention that half of the woman who
ever visited ND fell in love with him. It is wonderful that he is doing so well.
Guy Weismantel '58
via email
What am I doing here?
A great question that I have often asked myself but I don't like the answer Father Nicholas Ayo gives. Learning to be human? If you take away his obligatory references to Jesus and God, you might think he is a humanist.
And is this not what is happening to Notre Dame? Oh we will keep the statues, the Basilica, and all the chapels but we will teach the students to become humanists. No thanks, I know enough about human nature to know or at least believe that there must be something better out there for me. Jesus did become human but only to make it possible for us to break free of our human nature. And that is what I am doing here.
Tom Wich '63
Clarendon Hills, Illinois
Reflecting on a Reflection
Re: Sheila Sullivan McIntyre "Campus Visit" website Reflection: My grade school sweetheart also
traveled from Saint Mary of the Woods for my freshman Fall dance in 1958. A few months later,
she wrote she decided to join the convent. Either I or Notre Dame failed to facilitate that reunion.
John G. Kost '62
Islamorada, Florida
Pasquerillas not the coolest
I lived in Grace from 1970 to 1974. That dorm along with Flanner was air-conditioned, using a
chilled water system, so the statement in the Spring 2007 issue, "Also, the two Pasquerillas were the first dorms to have air conditioning,” by the author, Tim
Dougherty '07, is incorrect.
I know that Grace and Flanner are now administrative offices and part of a “failed experiment”
(a phrase that really annoys me, I enjoyed my four years in Grace, as did the others I roomed
with and stayed with for those years) but they were still dorms used for some 30+ years.
In have a particular attachment to the land that the Pasquerillas are built on. The practice field
for the Grace football team was that area. I was part of the 1970 Division Champs, and also
played until I injured my knee in 1972, right there on the practice field.
Really small trivia that I thought you should know.
Bob Farley ’74
Mineola, New York
Relativism
I am a simple priest from Arkansas, and a priest friend who knows me to be very “pro life” gave
me Notre Dame Magazine, Winter 2006-07. He pointed out the article “A View from the
Classroom,” page 44, by Donald Kommers. Donald boasts about Notre Dame offering “all
human learning.” He says, “the court (Supreme) has bound itself to methods of interpretation
designed to keep judges from importing their personal moral and political views into their
decisions.” He doesn’t seem concerned about truth. He says that lower law givers (states) are
preferred to higher. I say not if they are bad laws. He prefers to dumb down God’s laws or
radical truth to give way to learned (stupid) opinion.
Pope Benedict, early on, told us of the great evil of relativism. That becomes a “pick and
choose” religion, or law, or anything. We have greater reason and truth, God’s law. The Church
has struggled for two thousand years to find the truth in all things. Man today wants “to do his
own thing.” Hence was have 20 thousand plus churches called Christian and some laws that
don’t hear God’s truth. It has crept into our catechetics and our moral life. It is “do what you
want,” the liberalism of today that had difficulty with objective truth. Our bishops and priests
have become compromise wiffs, not sentinels for truth. I hope that the pope and bishops talk
much more about this, but Satan is having his finest hour.
This becomes the Church’s most serious battle. It is fierce and has led Catholics in
politics to be confused about protecting unborn life. We let the Democrat Party have abortion
permitted on its platform. We will take the word of an atheist and not speak out for truth, all
truth. We hide our faith. What would the Church look like if our Christians in Rome acted this
way for the first 300 years? And if you deny sin you leave no room for forgiveness, correction,
and truth.
Rev. Thomas W. Keller
Carlisle, Arkansas
Non-Cathllic scholars add depth
How Catholic the faculty? (Winter 2006-07 issue). I am pleased to see Notre Dame rank number 20 in the most recent U.S. News & World Report Rankings of Research Undergraduate Schools. In part, this ranking does reflect faculty quality
which Notre Dame continues to enhance.
In Notre Dame's quest to rank as one of the nation's premier research universities, I think an
openness to active recruitment of the world's best scholars regardless of faith should strongly be
considered. Many of the comparable schools (Ivy League) boast superior faculty members who
espouse disparate faiths such as Judaism, Protestantism, and Eastern disciplines. I fear that many
non-Catholic scholars who would help grow Notre Dame in academic strength fail to consider
the school because of the limitations associated with its Catholic nature as well as its mission to
hire a faculty consisting of at least 50 percent Catholics.
Many non-Catholic scholars would in fact add depth and focus to the Catholic dimension, and
elevate the school's reputation as a desirable, welcoming and valued place for world-class
academic investigation. Let's not let our vigor for a Catholic-centered university supplant the
work Father Hesburgh achieved in moving the school away from provincialism and into a
competitive world of academic prominence.
Paul J. Christo, MD, '90
Baltimore, Maryland
Abortion common ground
I read the article on Common Ground (Summer 2005 issue) with great interest. You see, Loretto Wagner is my mother
and I find reading about the history I have been fortunate to have lived very compelling. Many
side bars could be told about those early days of Common Ground. Many have forged the path
with which I lead my own battle against abortion rights on a very personal level. As the article
stated, you may not have heard much about Common Ground in the news since 1999, sadly
enough. However have no doubt, Loretto Wagner and her fellow visionaries continue to have a
dramatic impact on how this complex issue is viewed.
She had a slogan for many years as she led thousands of Missourians to Washington,
D.C. every January for the National March for Life. Each One Reach One! She meant for each
and every person to reach out on a personal level and win the heart and mind of another
individual and bring them with us to D.C. the following year. This same philosophy could apply
to her work with Common Ground. If each of us would reach out and dare to trust that we could
have a dialogue with someone of the opposite belief, what a difference we would make. She
would often say how polarized our society was on this issue and that something had to be done
to open dialogue. She felt that bettering the human condition in whatever way possible had to be
at the heart of all intention. "Find areas that we can share a common belief and begin from that
point", she said. This was the driving principle behind her work. Many of us still pursue this
same type of dialogue when debating the issues with the people in our lives. Many hearts and
minds have dared to step outside their once commonly held, preconceived ideas and embraced
the belief that the unborn child is indeed entitled to live. Many, once polarized parties, have
dared to trust. Conversion of hearts has been the prayer of the pro-life world for over 34 years
now. Remembering the principles of Common Ground by opening up a dialogue is one small
way to continually work towards conversion of heart and defend the unborn citizen among us.
By each of us continuing to reach yet one more individual we can make a difference.
Thank you to each of these individuals that withstood so much for their willingness to trust that
they could make a difference.
Catherine Wagner-Gansmann
Saint Louis, Missouri
Charge for Mass?
Sacred Heart is my favorite choice to attend Mass. It is a spiritual experience that brings many
family memories back to me. I was sorry to hear of the storm damage, and was glad no one got
hurt. ND made a good decision to check out the other spires.
In light of the new football ticket policy and the major increase in the building fund, I
hope ND doesn't start charging us to go to Mass.
Richard Dittoe ’65
Mishawaka, Indiana
Farewell Monologues
Congratulations to those who were successful in keeping the Vagina Monologues off campus this
year. Can you imagine what our Blessed Mother must have thought the two times it was shown?
Let us not forget to preserve the dignity of her campus.
Marjorie Reagan
Lorain, Ohio
(July 2007)
