Or as a Famous Jesuit Once Said, "Who Am I To Judge?"

By agreeing to provide contraceptive coverage, the university has violated its Catholic mission and revealed the emptiness of its lawsuit. In the tradition of the Land O’Lakes Statement and the “Cuomo Doctrine,” the University of Notre Dame continues to lead the way in compromising the moral traditions of the Catholic Church in order to accommodate modern attitudes about truth and the human person.

 In 2015, Notre Dame lost its legal challenge to the Obama administration’s mandate that it provide contraception, sterilization, and abortificacient drugs through its health-care plans. When the current presidential administration offered relief from the mandate, many believed Notre Dame would claim the exemption it had fought so hard to win in court. However, after “prayerful attention to God’s guidance” through the process of discernment — and out of respect for the “religious traditions and the conscientious decisions” of all of the members of its diverse community — Notre Dame president Father John Jenkins, CSC, announced his compromise: The university will provide coverage through its own insurance plans for “simple contraceptives.” It will not cover abortion-inducing drugs or sterilization procedures done “for the purpose of preventing conception.” The university will fund natural family-planning options and will provide a statement of the Catholic teaching on contraceptives to all plan enrollees.

 In an interview with The Atlantic, Father Jenkins explained further his thoughts in crafting the compromise. Against the danger of diluting the university’s Catholic identity, he said, “There’s a danger of rigidity in adhering to certain tenets that make the institution more narrow.”