Beginning Tuesday, September 24th, the CCCG hosted a series of events for students and the broader community as the Jacques Maritain Center’s Aquinas at 800 Conference and the Notre Dame-Louisville football game busied campus. In addition to the typical hustle and bustle brought about by a large academic conference and a home football game, the latter of these two events served as the anchor for the CCCG’s first-ever Alumni and Friends Weekend.
The week’s events included activities as varied as a private breakfast discussion with a cardinal for the Center’s Tocqueville Fellows, a live performance by the chart-topping bluegrass band the Hillbilly Thomists, and a public panel on “the state of Notre Dame.”
The Center’s week of programming kicked off with a private discussion breakfast for the Tocqueville Fellows with His Eminence Gerhard Cardinal Müller on Tuesday, September 24th. Cardinal Müller served as Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) from 2012 to 2017 after lengthy tenures as Bishop of Regensburg in Germany and as a professor of dogmatic theology at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Münich.
This unique opportunity to have an extensive discussion with a cardinal who has served in one of the top positions in the Church presented Fellows with a chance to ask some of their deepest questions about the Church and its relation to politics. During the breakfast discussion, Junior Shri Thakur asked Cardinal Müller if, in light of Pope Francis's recent comments about the difficult choice facing US Catholics in the upcoming presidential election, he had any advice for Catholic voters who are struggling to decide how to vote in accordance with their faith this November.
The Cardinal stated that although, as a religious leader, he does not make any formal recommendations, he would urge Catholic voters to weigh the right of all people to life heavily when making their decisions. He explained that if people can be denied the chance to live, then no other right matters.
Sophomore Fellow Alejandra Ricardo recalled how she was struck by the Cardinal’s emphasis on this fact: “As Catholics, the Cardinal reminds us that we must stand firm in the defense of truth and our steadfast fight for the protection of the sanctity of life at all stages.”
This opportunity for the Fellows to speak with Cardinal Müller came about as he was at Notre Dame for the Aquinas at 800 Conference, but he was not the only Catholic notable in town for the conference who participated in CCCG events. Just hours after the Fellows’ breakfast with Cardinal Müller wrapped up, the Center hosted a lunch discussion for affiliated graduate students with Fr. Wojciech Giertych, O.P. Fr. Giertych has served as the Theologian of the Papal Household since 2005, granting him the unofficial title of “the pope’s theologian.”
Students discussed an article Fr. Giertych had written on “Aquinas and the Human Law” with the theologian, exploring the relationship between God’s rule of the universe and human statesmanship.
Zachary Coddington, a 2nd-year Ph.D. candidate in political science, was impressed by the chance to discuss such deep questions with a theologian of Fr. Giertych’s stature.
“The discussion provided the law and doctoral students an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas, especially concerning Catholic teaching and secular power, its prerogatives and limitations, and the need for political prudence when dealing with a culture that opposes itself to the positions of the Church.”
After this long day of discussion, the CCCG closed out Tuesday with some lighter programming, though without sacrificing the opportunity to hear from some of the world’s leading theologians in attendance for the Aquinas conference. Co-sponsored by the Center along with the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, the Hillbilly Thomists performed to a packed concert hall at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center on Tuesday evening.
A few of the Dominican friars who make up the popular bluegrass band were already in town for the conference, including keynote speaker and rector of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome (the “Angelicum”) Fr. Thomas Joseph White, O.P., and the Center jumped on the chance to ensure that the band would give a public performance as well.
Senior Danny Martin, who was an avid fan of the bluegrass band well before their trip to Notre Dame’s campus, was thankful that he got to hear the friars perform.
Following this extremely busy day of programming, CCCG staff had just a couple of days to prepare for the end of the week’s surge of programming surrounding the Center’s Alumni and Friends Weekend. This first rendition centered around a panel of current and former faculty titled “A View from Within: Thoughts on the State of Notre Dame,” as well as a reception following this event and a tailgate prior to the Notre Dame-Louisville football game.
The panel was the first of the weekend’s events and featured Gerard Bradley, Professor Emeritus of Laws; Dr. David O'Connor, Professor of Classics and Philosophy; and Rev. Bill Miscamble, C.S.C., Professor Emeritus of History. The three longtime faculty members discussed their views on the current state of the University of Notre Dame with regard to its Catholic identity and other criteria.
Junior Michael Canady reflected on the value of hearing perspectives about Notre Dame from those who have seen the university’s development over a longer period of time.
“The panel was helpful for understanding the context of the university beyond our limited scope of four years. Oftentimes, as students, our perspective is confined by our role and our short amount of time on campus, so a panel of longtime faculty was very insightful.”
Immediately following the panel, the CCCG hosted a reception for those alumni and friends who were in attendance. Over drinks and hors d'oeuvres, many attendees continued the conversation started by the panel and caught up with friends and mentors from their time at Notre Dame.
Finally, the CCCG ended the week with a tailgate put on by the Center along with the Mendoza College of Business Honors Program. Fellows, faculty, friends, and alumni all came together to eat, drink, and build community at this event before heading to watch Notre Dame football go on to defeat the Louisville Cardinals.
Returning alumni were especially grateful to have had this opportunity to reconnect with the CCCG and all of those who they came to know through its programming. Nico Schmitz, a recent graduate in the Class of 2024 who was a Tocqueville Fellow and Constitutional Studies minor during his time on campus, expressed how the CCCG Alumni and Friends Weekend was a great occasion to make one of his first trips back to campus since graduating.
“It is weird coming back to Notre Dame once you have graduated, but attending the CCCG alumni reunion upon arrival immediately reminded me that I was home.
“The CCCG was an incredibly formative aspect of my undergraduate life, and the panel and reunion were a testament to the formation that occurs through the Center and the CCCG’s role in shaping the spirit and experience of Notre Dame for the future,” Schmitz continued. “There aren’t many places on campus that will welcome alumni back to Notre Dame like family and that care so deeply about the well-being of the university.”
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