New book looks at mixed legacy of Notre Dame’s longtime president
Holy Cross Father Theodore Hesburgh, then president of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, is seen in this 1987 file photo. Father Hesburgh convened the group that produced the 1967 Land O' Lakes statement on Catholic higher education. (Credit: CNS.)
NEW YORK - Few priests manage to land on the cover of Time magazine, but Father Ted Hesburgh was no ordinary priest.
For thirty-five years, Hesburgh served as president of the University of Notre Dame, where he became friends with popes and presidents alike. He would go on to march alongside civil rights crusader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and later become a leading voice for economic development in the third world.
In a new biography out on Tuesday, American Priest: The Ambitious Life and the Conflicted Legacy of Notre Dame’s Father Ted Hesburgh, Notre Dame historian Father Wilson Miscamble, chronicles the life and legacy of Hesburgh. While the two developed a steadfast friendship, it was challenged by competing understandings of Catholic higher education and decisions Hesburgh made during his tenure at the university.
In an interview with Crux, Miscamble discusses Hesburgh’s consequential decisions at Notre Dame and the challenges of being fully American and fully Catholic.
Crux: Notre Dame is considered one of, if not the premier institution of Catholic higher education in the United States, yet its Catholic identity is often the subject of vigorous debate. Why is that the case and what role does Hesburgh’s legacy factor into these debates?
Miscamble: In my book, American Priest: The Ambitious Life and Conflicted Legacy of Father Ted Hesburgh, I reveal how Notre Dame’s legendary president sought the respect of the secular academic establishment. He worked in light of its criteria, rather than those unique to a Catholic university. He emphasized “excellence,” but it was an excellence as defined by the secular institutions. As a consequence, Notre Dame has wrestled with issues of Catholic identity since Father Hesburgh’s time.
From Eisenhower to Clinton, Hesburgh was an ally or at least influential figure, for numerous presidential administrations. How did he manage to serve such a role - and maintain it for so long?
Father Hesburgh saw himself as a true American patriot and he held strongly that the United States possessed a special and God-given destiny. He loved this country and had a special regard for the office of the presidency. He felt a deep obligation to respond if called upon by an American president, and he was very glad to serve presidents from Eisenhower through to Clinton.
His role was, however, not one of a spiritual guide or religious counselor to these presidents in the manner of Billy Graham. Instead, he toiled tirelessly to aid the United States in resolving some of the major issues and challenges it confronted during these challenging decades from the 1950s through the 1990s. He held a number of special appointments that involved him on a range of issues; the most important by far was his service on the Civil Rights Commission from 1957 until 1972.
How did Hesburgh forge such a close friendship with Pope Paul VI - and what was his own personal response to Humanae Vitae?
Father Hesburgh served a number of popes through his role as Vatican delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency, but he enjoyed a close personal friendship with Paul VI -at least for a time. They established their friendship when the then-Cardinal Montini visited Notre Dame in 1960 for the commencement exercises. A real bond was established between them and this continued once Montini was elevated to the Chair of Peter. Father Hesburgh had easy access to the pope and discussed a range of issues with him, including matters related to Catholic higher education.
At the request of Paul VI, he took the lead role in developing the Ecumenical Institute at Tantur in the Holy Land. It was undoubtedly a sadness for both men when their friendship ruptured in 1968. Father Hesburgh was surprised and disappointed with Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae, but he made no public criticism. The rupture in their relationship came when Hesburgh endorsed criticisms of the Vatican made by Cardinal Leo Suenens of Belgium. Paul VI apparently was hurt by these criticisms and the fracture in the relationship was never fully repaired. The brotherly connection they had once shared could not be restored.
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-u...xed-legacy-of-notre-dames-longtime-president/
- Christopher White
Mar 12, 2019
NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT
Holy Cross Father Theodore Hesburgh, then president of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, is seen in this 1987 file photo. Father Hesburgh convened the group that produced the 1967 Land O' Lakes statement on Catholic higher education. (Credit: CNS.)
NEW YORK - Few priests manage to land on the cover of Time magazine, but Father Ted Hesburgh was no ordinary priest.
For thirty-five years, Hesburgh served as president of the University of Notre Dame, where he became friends with popes and presidents alike. He would go on to march alongside civil rights crusader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and later become a leading voice for economic development in the third world.
In a new biography out on Tuesday, American Priest: The Ambitious Life and the Conflicted Legacy of Notre Dame’s Father Ted Hesburgh, Notre Dame historian Father Wilson Miscamble, chronicles the life and legacy of Hesburgh. While the two developed a steadfast friendship, it was challenged by competing understandings of Catholic higher education and decisions Hesburgh made during his tenure at the university.
In an interview with Crux, Miscamble discusses Hesburgh’s consequential decisions at Notre Dame and the challenges of being fully American and fully Catholic.
Crux: Notre Dame is considered one of, if not the premier institution of Catholic higher education in the United States, yet its Catholic identity is often the subject of vigorous debate. Why is that the case and what role does Hesburgh’s legacy factor into these debates?
Miscamble: In my book, American Priest: The Ambitious Life and Conflicted Legacy of Father Ted Hesburgh, I reveal how Notre Dame’s legendary president sought the respect of the secular academic establishment. He worked in light of its criteria, rather than those unique to a Catholic university. He emphasized “excellence,” but it was an excellence as defined by the secular institutions. As a consequence, Notre Dame has wrestled with issues of Catholic identity since Father Hesburgh’s time.
From Eisenhower to Clinton, Hesburgh was an ally or at least influential figure, for numerous presidential administrations. How did he manage to serve such a role - and maintain it for so long?
Father Hesburgh saw himself as a true American patriot and he held strongly that the United States possessed a special and God-given destiny. He loved this country and had a special regard for the office of the presidency. He felt a deep obligation to respond if called upon by an American president, and he was very glad to serve presidents from Eisenhower through to Clinton.
His role was, however, not one of a spiritual guide or religious counselor to these presidents in the manner of Billy Graham. Instead, he toiled tirelessly to aid the United States in resolving some of the major issues and challenges it confronted during these challenging decades from the 1950s through the 1990s. He held a number of special appointments that involved him on a range of issues; the most important by far was his service on the Civil Rights Commission from 1957 until 1972.
How did Hesburgh forge such a close friendship with Pope Paul VI - and what was his own personal response to Humanae Vitae?
Father Hesburgh served a number of popes through his role as Vatican delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency, but he enjoyed a close personal friendship with Paul VI -at least for a time. They established their friendship when the then-Cardinal Montini visited Notre Dame in 1960 for the commencement exercises. A real bond was established between them and this continued once Montini was elevated to the Chair of Peter. Father Hesburgh had easy access to the pope and discussed a range of issues with him, including matters related to Catholic higher education.
At the request of Paul VI, he took the lead role in developing the Ecumenical Institute at Tantur in the Holy Land. It was undoubtedly a sadness for both men when their friendship ruptured in 1968. Father Hesburgh was surprised and disappointed with Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae, but he made no public criticism. The rupture in their relationship came when Hesburgh endorsed criticisms of the Vatican made by Cardinal Leo Suenens of Belgium. Paul VI apparently was hurt by these criticisms and the fracture in the relationship was never fully repaired. The brotherly connection they had once shared could not be restored.
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-u...xed-legacy-of-notre-dames-longtime-president/
