The University of Notre Dame does not have a problem outlining its ambition to be the world’s leading Catholic university, but it faces perennial problems in fulfilling this goal. It confronts a major test of fidelity to its Catholic mission right now.
The university’s recent strategic plan outlined that Notre Dame must be “the leading global Catholic research university, on par with but distinct from the world’s best private universities.” The authors of the plan declared to the various constituencies of the university that it would maintain its distinctive religious identity and assured that Notre Dame would be anchored in its Catholicism. Indeed, the first goal delineated was the noble objective to “ensure that our Catholic character informs all our endeavors.”
