Table Of ContentHesburgh of Notre Dame
Assessments of a Legacy
Edited by
Todd C. Ream · Michael J. James
Foreword by
Kevin M. Schultz
Hesburgh of Notre Dame
“Hesburgh of Norte Dame is an excellent collective biography of sorts, assessing the
range and the texture of Fr. Hesburgh’s engagement as both a university president
and dedicated public servant. As this volume suggests, this remarkable priest and
educator had a great impact on the church by helping American Catholics imagine
how their faith could engage the pressing problems of the day, at the same time
that he helped translate the values of Catholic social teaching for the political and
cultural establishment into the language of justice, service, and Christian hope.
One is once again struck by the theological and spiritual inspiration of Fr.
Hesburgh’s vision, whether it be in fostering a theology of the laity, working for
the cause of civil and human rights, or in re-centering the mission of Catholic
higher education to be an agent for the common good. This assessment becomes
clear in the many nuanced appraisals of this American Catholic priest.”
—Mark Bosco, SJ, Vice President for Mission and Ministry,
Georgetown University, USA
“Father Hesburgh was a transformative figure who modernized Notre Dame into
a premier research and academic institution and who led our nation to address
critical moral issues from civil rights and labor rights to poverty and injustice. This
book ably examines Hesburgh’s significant achievements, not only for Notre
Dame, but as a national leader and a global figure, as a champion for justice, for
human rights, and for service to others.”
—Chris Coons, United States Senator, Delaware
“At a time in which Catholic intellectual tradition struggles to find a new role in
its relations with the university, the Church, and politics in the USA, this book on
Fr. Hesburgh provides critical insights on a key figure in the history of Catholicism.
It’s not just about the legacy of Fr. Hesburgh, but also about the future of
American Catholicism.”
—Massimo Faggioli, Professor of Historical Theology, Villanova University, USA
“Collectively, the essays of Hesburgh of Notre Dame describe a broadly effectual
leader engaged not only in the national and global issues of his time, but those to
come, doing so in direct conversation and collaboration with the highest echelons
of political and ecclesial power across a span of decades. On their own, they each
reveal especial underpinnings that educated, inspired, discouraged, and urged the
priest-president he became, and the socio-cultural, educational, and ethical issues
he faced, if not formed. Standing within the dynamism of the day, and yet always
on the cusp of evolving matters, the Hesburgh in these portrayals is consistent and
compelling.”
—Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, President, Creighton University, USA
“A logical addition to the editors’ list of potential readers are Catholic college and
university presidents – those currently serving as well as aspiring to the presidency.
Fr. Ted completed his remarkable tenure at Notre Dame a full decade before I
began my first presidency; still, in many surprising ways, this diverse array of essays
offers contemporary leaders compelling glimpses into how, why, and toward what
end Hesburgh successfully integrated his Holy Cross priesthood; his vocational
call to university leadership; and his principled and powerful voice as a force for
good in the world. A fruitful and engaging read!”
—Andrea Lee, IHM, President Emeritus, Alverno College, USA
“Todd Ream and Michael James provide a fresh look at the audacious and spirited
leadership of one of the most influential university presidents in our nation’s his-
tory. As the first lay woman to lead an American Jesuit, Catholic college, I attri-
bute my unparalleled opportunity to serve as a college president to the prophetic
work of fellow native Syracusan Fr. Ted Hesburgh. All of us in higher education
should read this powerful narrative to gain deeper appreciation for what exemplary
servant-leadership looks like.”
—Linda M. LeMura, President, LeMoyne College, USA
“A stimulating and revealing set of essays on one of the most important Catholic
figures of the American twentieth century. The coverage from theology to public
affairs to athletics mirrors Fr. Hesburgh’s own remarkably wide-ranging interests.”
—John T. McGreevy, Provost and Professor of History,
University of Notre Dame, USA
“Theodore Hesburgh fused the leadership roles of priest and president in making
an indelible mark on American higher education starting in the second half of the
twentieth century. This volume of essays edited by Professors Todd C. Ream and
Michael James, bring together in a coherent and compelling anthology the per-
spectives of leading scholars who know, study and work in our colleges and univer-
sities. Their commentaries and critical analyses of Hesburgh’s contributions not
only to Notre Dame but also in an array of public forums such as foreign relations
and international affairs suggest why Hesburgh can justifiably be remembered as
American higher education’s “Man for All Seasons.” Hesburgh’s formal titles,
awards and appointments alone do not fully capture his legacy. Rather, as the
cumulative essays show in fluid prose and detail, it is his sustained wisdom and
courage as a leader that sets him apart from many presidents and public intellectu-
als in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.”
—John R. Thelin, University Research Professor, University of Kentucky, USA
Todd C. Ream • Michael J. James
Editors
Hesburgh of Notre
Dame
Assessments of a Legacy
Foreword by Kevin M. Schultz
Editors
Todd C. Ream Michael J. James
Taylor University Boston College
Upland, IN, USA Newton, MA, USA
ISBN 978-3-031-12477-8 ISBN 978-3-031-12478-5 (eBook)
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The mediatorial mission of Christ the Priest was entrusted to the Church
and in the supernatural organism of His Body. His priestly mediation is
continued, participated variously by all His members, who through His
life-giving sacraments partake of the influence of the greatest Sacrament of
all: His Sacred Humanity, the “source of all priesthood.”
Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C.
The Theology of Catholic Action, 1946
F
oreword
One of my favorite Ted Hesburgh stories takes place when he was little,
growing up in Syracuse, New York. One day he came home from school
to find a woman sobbing in his living room, with Hesburgh’s mother
comforting her. When Hesburgh later asked his mom what had happened,
she explained that the woman was Jewish and that their neighbors, most
but not all of them Catholic, constantly insulted the Jewish woman and
called her despicable names. With antisemitism rife in 1920s America,
Hesburgh’s mom sided with justice. She befriended the Jewish woman
and took no quarter with her Catholic neighbors. “My mother used to use
strong language on the neighbors, who just cut that woman when she’d
be out pushing her buggy,” Hesburgh remembered. “No one would even
say hello to her except my mother. That was my first encounter with
prejudice.”
The historian in me knows better than to rely on the memory of a
young boy to establish historical truth. Apocryphal or not, though, it is
worth noting that Hesburgh himself relied on this story when asked how
he understood the particular pathway for his vocation. Seeking out justice
was a recurring theme. Another major event in his early life was World War
II. Hesburgh was at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Italy right as
the war broke out and was in town when Mussolini invited Hitler to
Rome. Hesburgh refused to go to the window of his apartment to look
outside. He later regretted not seeing with his own two eyes these major
historical figures, but principles were principles.
Twin imperatives—a broad call to fight prejudice under the banner of
Catholicism and the notion that the United States could be a force for
vii
viii FOREWORD
good in the world—shaped much of what Hesburgh did during his long
life. Sure, as president of the University of Notre Dame from 1952 to
1987, Hesburgh reshaped Catholic higher education, undoubtedly raising
the academic quality of Notre Dame and putting Catholic higher educa-
tion more on par with the rest of the American academic life.
But the classic campus joke—“what’s the difference between God and
Father Hesburgh? God is everywhere. Father Hesburgh is everywhere
but Notre Dame”—also resonates. Hesburgh was a towering figure in
the second half of twentieth-century America beyond South Bend, serv-
ing presidents, corporate tycoons, and major philanthropies, winner of
the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964 and a Congressional Gold
Medal in 1999. He was even rumored to have been offered to serve as
George McGovern’s running mate in 1972. Along with a few other fig-
ures—John Courtney Murray, S.J., and Cardinal Francis Spellman come
to mind—Father Ted really did represent a Catholic voice on national
matters.
He might, from some perspectives, have landed on the liberal side of
the spectrum, including especially on questions related to racial justice,
economic equality, and the costs of Catholic particularism. And this has
led some to criticize him for sacrificing his Catholic principles for some
version of inclusive “liberalism.” But that doesn’t seem quite fair. His
times were not ours, his culture wars not ours, the outside influences
challenging Catholicism are different today than they were then. He
often led with a basic principle of combating prejudice even if that
brought him into conflict with his beloved Catholic Church and/or its
congregants. This was, after all, the basic principle he learned by watch-
ing his mom.
This collection of essays tries to push our recognition of Hesburgh’s
importance beyond the fact he was president of Notre Dame for thirty-
five years, or, maybe better put, to grapple with the fact that what he did
at Notre Dame reverberated far beyond Indiana. They assess his role in
developing our ideas surrounding civil rights, science and technology in
contemporary societies, foreign relations, the Cold War, religious plural-
ism, the Catholic place in the modern world, and more. The chapters
don’t shy away from theology. But they don’t dwell on it either. Instead,
they use Hesburgh’s understanding of Catholic theology to illustrate
FOREWORD ix
what he did and why, and how it changed our world. They try to see
Hesburgh as, in some ways, one might imagine Hesburgh wanted himself
to be seen, as a dedicated public servant doing God’s work as best he
could imagine. If his was the public face of American Catholicism for
more than four decades, these essays help us understand and evaluate his
vital legacy.
U niversity of Illinois Chicago Kevin M. Schultz
Chicago, IL
C
ontents
1 Introduction: “You Can’t Blow an Uncertain Trumpet” 1
Todd C. Ream and Michael J. James
2 The Church: Where Laity Lead—Hesburgh’s Vision of the
University and the Church 11
Edward P. Hahnenberg
3 The University: The Catholic University in the Modern World 41
Michael Hahn
4 Science and Technology: Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C.:
A Mediator Between Science, Society, and Theology 69
Hille Haker
5 Civil and Human Rights: “Wisdom in the Struggle”—The
Civil and Human Rights Legacy of Father Theodore Hesburgh 99
Christopher Metress
6 Foreign Relations and Peace: “The Hope of a Better
World”—Hesburgh and the Catholic University in a
Nuclear Age 127
Anthony J. Oleck
xi
