Notre Dame Fires Staffer For Attending Pro-Life Rally
Posted by Jim Hoft on Saturday, September 4, 2010, 12:55 PM
Notre Dame Associate Vice-President of Residence Life Bill Kirk was fired by the university for attending a pro-life rally. This is the same “Catholic” University that gave pro-infanticide President Obama an honorary degree.
LifeNews.com reported:
Because he participated in the protest students, staff and pro-life supporters backed when Notre Dame University decided to allow pro-abortion President Barack Obama to give its commencement speech, Associate Vice-President for Residence Life Bill Kirk apparently lost his job.
Father Tom Doyle, Notre Dame’s new Vice-President for Student Affairs reportedly fired Kirk, who had spent nearly 22 years with the college.
Dr. David Solomon, a Notre Dame professor, penned a column in the conservative Irish Rover newspaper laying out what happened, and it is already causing a buzz on the Internet and in Catholic circles.
“The decision was both unfair and imprudent. It was unfair, because, as a loyal employee of Notre Dame for almost 22 years—and one who had been placed repeatedly in positions where he took the brunt of public criticism for enforcing policies adopted by his superiors—he deserved better from those superiors than to be removed from office with no notice and with no public explanation for his removal,” Solomon wrote.
Solomon noted how Bill and his wife Elizabeth were active in pro-life activities on campus and with the response to the Obama speech.
Dallas Blog has more.
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Published May 24, 2012 at 8:46 pm - 91 Comments
ahem commented:
There’s one reaon why this is happening: because, over the ladst 30 years, the Left has coopted half the Catholic church. Watch Michael Voris’s 5-part youtube video about how Alinsky targeted and took down half the American Catholic Church:
http://tinyurl.com/2bc7um2.
Conservative catholics have unwittingly been paying for abortions for the last 30 years, and haldf have been turned into the equivalent of Liberation Theologists.
It’s a little dry, but very well documented and part 3 is a kicker.
Gman commented:
Kinda like the staffer at UC Berkeley that got fired for going to a pro-abortion rally…. oh wait, that never happened.
aro5o75 commented:
The good doctor will surely find another job, Notre Dame on the otherhand is gone forever.
That’s the true shame here.
Just_Saying commented:
So, where’s the “conservative” pope? Not much from that representative of Christ on earth, is there?
Pope Benedict, get some courage!!
.
lyle commented:
There’s a lot of conclusion-jumping going on here.
ResLife had become controversial among the student body and alumni, including conservative alumni. It had a reputation under Kirk for inflicting harsh penalties for things like underage drinking – the drinking age in Indiana is 21.
In two years, two highly promising tight ends transferred off the football team due to ResLife’s extreme punishment for tiny infractions. Not assaults or theft, just normal college kid stuff. It was killing the university on the recruiting trail.
Kirk’s firing may or may not be justified, but it was almost certainly because ResLife had become such a liability.
captainfish commented:
Very true Ahem. The fastest way to destroy society and its morals is to subvert and destroy the church and family from within.
Many of the catholic church leaders don’t even believe in the resurrection of Jesus and that he one of the Holy Trinity.
Notre Dame is just another Christian organization that has been turned liberal, then progressive and then anti-GOD.
bg commented:
++
shame on Notre Dame, and may the
Saints haunt their halls of de-fame..
==
bg commented:
++
ahem @ 1:09 pm #1
thank you.. *sigh*
re: [part 3 is a kicker]
we truly haven’t got a clue as to just how (fitb) screwed we are..
==
squeaky commented:
everyone’s familiar with jerry kellman. converted
and active in catholic church……obama’s mentor.
http://illinoisissues.uis.edu/archives/2009/03/kellman.html
bg commented:
++
squeaky @ 2:16 pm #9
what a hypocrite..
==
Cpl Mongo commented:
For UND to invite that Man there was the last staw for me.
If a restaurant serves no food can you still call it a restaurant? A gas station that will not sell gas? A Catholic university without Catholic morality? To put someone with BHO’s record quite literally up on a podium was a sickening slap in the face.
I do so miss John Paul II. I could just see him sending a few Cardinals over here as envoys with a sealed personal note to the university president that starts off with the line: “What in the world are you people doing?”.
Stephen Lowe commented:
Shame.
czekmark commented:
The left have taken over most of our secular education institutions so why not the religious ones as well. A counter to this outrage will not be found in our schools but in family oriented organizations like the tea parties.
squeaky commented:
[The "Social Justice" Fallacy? Wolves in Sheep's Clothing
By Dr. Mark W. Hendrickson]
http://newsblaze.com/story/20100407093415zzzz.nb/topstory.html
gus commented:
Lyle, please come back when you have something fact based of coherant. Maybe after you nap??
Larry Sheldon commented:
Here, they say if you want your kids to go to a Catholic college, send them to University Nebraska-Omaha, not Creighton.
kato commented:
JP II was great at getting canonizations by the thousands, if that’s what you like, but he didn’t have much real power over his flocks in Europe and the U.S.
The most celebrated Catholics in America today are the ones who advocate variously left-wing revolution, abortion rights, homosexual marriage and open immigration. (Pelosi, Kennedy, Kerry, Dorgan, just to name a few in the political realm) The Church has come a long way since the days of Bishop Sheen. Notre Dame has been representaive of this intellectual and spiritual corruption for quite a few years now.
Stanley commented:
Father Tom Doyle, only remembers Jesus riding in on a donkey, when he entered the city, which would explain his unusual behavior. He should respectful resign with an apology and maybe one to his Lord, if he still exists in this man’s mind. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Chip Bennett commented:
Ah yes: the fantasy that Notre Dame is still a Catholic institution.
NeoKong commented:
What next….?
A mosque ?
bg commented:
++
squeaky @ 2:49 pm #15
Obama is into collective kingdom building for the
new world order in the name of “social justice”..
just a sample:
“I am confident that we can create a Kingdom right here on Earth.”
‘We are God’s partners in matters of life and death’
‘my individual salvation is not gonna come about
without a collective salvation for the country’ …
UCC member Sen. Barack Obama discusses faith and politics
["I believe that democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal values," Obama said. "Social justice and national security are both universal values, values that may originate for some in their religious beliefs, but are shared by us all."]
”I am certain nothing has done so much to destroy the juridical safeguards of individual freedom as the striving after the mirage of social justice.”
“I have come to feel strongly that the greatest service I can still render to my fellow men would be that I could make the speakers and writers among them thoroughly ashamed ever again to employ the term ’social justice’.”
~Friedrich A. von Hayek
SOCIAL JUSTICE IN ISLAM
[In ancient times the concept of human inequality, which was
prevalent everywhere, gave rise to social injustice in every society.
[..]
Islam’s third great contribution to social justice was the example it itself set in according to the same honor and respect to all human beings, whether they were weak or strong, kings or commoners, be it in family circles, social life, positions of power or in the government, by the same token, no one could escape punishment for his sins.]
time & again, Islam rewrites history..
==
Stanley commented:
A 13 story building dedicate to the Rational Temple and their Conceptual God.
aprilnovember811 commented:
Notre Dame is now officially in the toilet. Anyone who donates to this school should pull out. I am Catholic, and wouldn’t pay for an education from that rat hole.
squeaky commented:
golden age of islam say ya’.
http://globalpolitician.com/22797-islamism
Dim Bulb commented:
I understand ND is very proud of its charter as a Catholic University and that it hands our this charter to all its graduates. Indeed, it even encases the charter in a custom made frame, with many styles available. Here is a sample of some of those frames:
http://thedivinelamp.wordpress.com/2009/03/27/custom-made-frames-for-notre-dame-charter/
bg commented:
++
just a sample of what you will not hear about
via our (Isla) M(arxist) S(upport) M(achine)..
Muslim Slavery Today
[Muslims are told that Africans "annoy the Prophet" (Ishaq 243), have hearts "grosser than a donkey" (Surah 9:61) and that blacks should be left to die if injured, and should be denied intercession and entrance to heaven (Bukhari: Volume 4, Book 52, Number 137).
Muslims try and torture non-Muslims into becoming Muslims. Not every Muslim is evil and some i've heard have even come to the aid of non-Muslims who were being beaten in the streets but unfortunately they are the minority. Muslims continue to commit these types of atrocities against non-Muslims everyday in other countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan etc. Men, women and children have been raped & tortured by Muslims because in their countries they get away with it. Saudi Arabia regularly beheads people caught practicing other religions. The genocide has switched from southern Sudan to Darfur with oil revenues being used by the Islamic government to perpetuate genocide.]
ps: God wants them to do that..
“For 12 long years I lived within the narrow-minded confines of the ‘straightjacket world’ created by my strong belief that Elijah Muhammad was a messenger direct from God Himself, and my faith in what I now see to be a pseudo-religious philosophy that he preaches…. I shall never rest until I have undone the harm I did to so many well-meaning, innocent Negroes who through my own evangelistic zeal now believe in him even more fanatically and more blindly than I did.”
Malcolm X
==
Hedgehog commented:
Lyle: Excuse me, but if it illegal in the state of Indiana to consume alcoholic beverages under the age of 21, how does the school suppose that they can sanction illegal conduct. Your comment makes it sound as though you think that Kirk may have exceeded his brief by punishing illegal conduct. Unfortunately, the school is not in a position to ignore the law. If that hurts them on the recruiting trail, then perhaps the prospects that they are recruiting are not really the people that the school should recruit in the first place. No, this sounds like a hatchet job.
jainphx commented:
Raised Catholic, and now a born again Christian, there is so much I could say here, but I will hold my tongue, other than to say that some in the ” leadership” of the Church are FAR from leaders.
bigL commented:
“Dear Pope Benedict XVI, please review
for excommunication the leadership and CEO, CFO, and Board of Directors of Notre Dame
University. It is in South Bend Indiana.
Thank you.
bg commented:
++
“So Long Captain Kirk: A Personal Reflection”
by Dr. David Solomon
[It may be that in an era when Notre Dame has become more of a brand and less of a community, such actions are no longer possible, and those of us who long for them are simply being naive. If so, it is surely a great loss. The Kirks will survive their brutal treatment by Our Lady’s University. They are people of enormous energy and talent—and goodness. They will make new friends and contribute to other communities elsewhere. It is those of us left behind who are the real losers, and those responsible for the firing of Bill Kirk may suffer the biggest losses of all.]
==
Paolo commented:
@squeaky, very interesting reference.
Take this sentence: “The day after Christmas, Kellman was in his office fielding an interview with a reporter from Libération, a French daily newspaper,…” Oh yes, just a French daily newspaper!
And then: “Kellman, …, is understandably proud of much of his and Obama’s accomplishments with the Developing Communities Project. The list includes obtaining a $1 million commitment from the state for a job-training program on the far south side, as well as working to rid housing projects of asbestos.”
Subadar Lal Khukri commented:
I’m watching ND/Purdue.
Now, I hope the Boilermakers murder them.
Illinois Patriot commented:
What hath God wrought?
Andreas K. commented:
Pope Benny is too busy kissing up to islam. His cardinals and bishops in Europe are all happy about islam spreading. They think islam brings god back into society.
flyoverland commented:
Well, here’s another college that won’t be getting my money.
lyle commented:
My point is that Kirk was more likely fired due to his ResLife job rather than ProLife activities.
I don’t want to argue about whether the Resident Life office was too harsh in its penalties. That’s a matter of opinion and judgment. I just want to point out that his tenure had been controversial, and shouldn’t be ignored as a probable cause for his dismissal.
thomas mc donnell commented:
i’m a big notre dame fan. i go to a game there every year. the school has been going secular for years. there are hardly any priests on the faculty. over the last twenty-five years almost seventy of new faculty hires have been non-catholic. the president is a priest but i think he is just a puppet. two years ago the faculty council said the school should not let it desire to maintain its religious identify interfere with it academic pursuits. i think the only purpose the school’s religious identity has for the administration is to get catholics to donate money to the school. this firing doesen’t surprise me. catholics need to stop giving money to this pseudo-catholic school and find a real catholic school to give their money
kato commented:
Good point, lyle.
There’s usually another side to every story, and we amateur pundits tend to shoot from the hip based upon initial and partial reporting.
Just like many of the professional pundits.
StickerShock commented:
Lyle is absolutely correct. Kirk has been an unreasonable, power hungry administrator for years. Of corse there should be punishment for underage drinking. But not to the harsh extent Kirk was pushing. Even middle aged alumni were being harassed for tailgating on gameday. A handicapped fan was removed from the stadium for suspicion of inebriation. He wasn’t drunk, just unsteady. The resident life office needed a shake up. Kirk’s firing was requested by many in the ND community long before anyone ever heard of Obama. It very likely is completely removed from the university’s awful decision to award Obama an honorary degree & Kirk’s decision to attend a protest rally.
OBAMANATION @ NOTRE DAME commented:
88 JAILED for refusing to partake in Adoration of “THE ONE” – http://www.FreeTheND88.org
bg commented:
++
“The decision was both unfair and imprudent. It was unfair, because, as a loyal employee of Notre Dame for almost 22 years—and one who had been placed repeatedly in positions where he took the brunt of public criticism for enforcing policies adopted by his superiors—he deserved better from those superiors than to be removed from office with no notice and with no public explanation for his removal,” Solomon wrote.
can people not read anymore?? can they not comprehend what they read?? or do some just follow the typical journolist style & make up their own facts out of thin air as they go along :aka: opinion minus evidence, &/or, context??
==
bg commented:
++
“At the time Bill took part in the NDResponse rally, many people commented on the courage it took for him to stand with his wife and other witnesses to this protest of Notre Dame’s decision to award President Obama an honorary degree. I personally discounted these worries, believing that the Notre Dame administration would admire him for his principled stand on a matter so close to the Catholic heart of Notre Dame, even if they disagreed with his particular action,” Solomon continued.
“The administration welcomed President Obama’s sharp dissent from and attack on central Catholic teaching on life.
It seemed only reasonable that they would equally welcome dissent from university policy by such a loyal Catholic and member of the Notre Dame family as Bill Kirk—especially when his dissent was made in the name of the Catholic principles at Notre Dame’s heart and in the company of his bishop,” he continued.
Solomon says there was apparently reason for Kirk to be concerned after all and he no[w] worries about what “chilling effect” the firing will have on other Notre Dame staff.
<b."A number of other administrators have told me that in light of Bill Kirk’s treatment, they will in the future keep their heads down rather than dissent from the policies of the central administration," he said.
The Notre Dame professor doesn’t buy the excuse that the firing came for “restructuring reasons” since Kirk seems to be the only person in the office whose job was eliminated.]
2 + 2 does not = 5
==
bg commented:
++
re: bg #45
“A number of other administrators have told me that in light of Bill Kirk’s treatment, they will in the future keep their heads down rather than dissent from the policies of the central administration,” he said.
==
dnb commented:
The American heirarchy of the Catholic Church is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the democrat, esp. Notre Dame. Just saw a video by a Notre Dame priest which essentially advocates open borders (esp. betw. U.S. and Mexico, but it seems worldwide) and redistribution of wealth. He doesn’t seem to much like his investor banker brothers-in-law, but I’m sure he’s not opposed to taking contributions to his order or tuition from his students which are the fruits of the labor of such bankers and the families who employ them.
Lance commented:
It’s sad but not surprising. Universities and religions were always priority targets in this nation. Read enough communist literature and it gets obvious real quick. The independent mind is replaced with a social conscience. Revealed religion is replaced with the same.
Too many infested churches are telling us that God is fickle. For example, one day gay marriage is an abomination and the next it’s a moral right. Eventually the flock doesn’t believe in His omnipotence and go astray. Lost and confused sheep (obnoxious squishy minded little pukes) who will now put their faith in man.
Sojourner commented:
“God, Country, Notre Dame.”
bwahhhhhhhha…what a joke.
Brooklyn commented:
Simply disgusting.
Notre Dame rots.
Remember their overt partisan display upon giving Obama a ‘diploma’?
He really needed an education.
Notre Dame is really sinking like a rock.
A shame…
ray commented:
Won’t be hiring any Notre Dame grads. They are apparently as stupid as those from Ivy League schools.
FREE THE ND 88 commented:
Please join http://www.ProjectSycamore.com
Hedgehog commented:
Everyone should take the time to view the videos at the link provided in the first post by “ahem”. They are enlightening and well worth the investment of time. They also help explain a lot.
oldguy commented:
The Catholic religion has become a joke, especially in America. This is a good thing and I blame the Vatican for not exercising more control over the homosexuals and child molesters in the seminaries in America. I guess the money was good from the U.S. so they chose to look the other way about these abuses.
IN MEMORY OF MARY JO commented:
That’s just how we roll @ http://www.Indoctrinate-U.com
wanumba commented:
You know what would go a long way to rectify a lot of university and college nonsense?
Split sports off. Go to the independent club structure and get them out of the EDUCATION institutions.
Everyone can still have their favorite teams, but the universities will not be diluting their original missions to educate and will cease engineering their existence and prejudicing all their decision-making process thru sports income.
How many alumni contribute SOLELY to keep the football going? Notre Dame is not off course just because of Liberal Lefties, they put more to their image of sports powerhouse than their original church mission. Once sports trumped church, it was slack enough to allow the Left to weasel into academics and mold the campus environment. The school was making decisions for the wrong reasons.
Football is a great sport, but the pampering and coddling and spoiling of players is NOT healthy, nor is rewarding them for play while accepting piss-poor academics. Not all college football players are dumb jocks at all – and do well in their degrees, but there are too many who were picked to promote the school for fund raising, the school could care less what happens to them after they can’t play anymore. Their JOB is to educate those guys to have something useful when sports fails them.
The universities will scream bloody murder at any threat to remove sports from their control, but the costs of universities are going thru the roof, while academic acheivement is falling. The stadiums are state of the art pristine, the academics are rotting. Some universities these days have hardly anything BUT sports to offer. Then call them sports clubs and evacuate the academics to a suitable enviroment that encourages academic achievement.
Academics are not expensive – a classroom a professor who knows what he or she is talking about and a decent textbook. Yet, how much of the costs are overhead, sports and drivel? ANd then they STILL run fund drives!!
See the drop out rates of colleges these days? Far FAR FAR worse than 4 years of military. Tell which is tougher, 4 years of college or 4 years of military?
It’s a huge mess with lots of wrong priorities.
StickerShock commented:
bg — We can read. We can comprehend. Nothing anyone posted about Kirk’s long, petty teunure in ND’s Residential Life Department is made up. Solomon’s article is in defense of a friend. It is Solomon’s opinion. As ND never discusses personnel matters, Kirk and his friends will, obviously, hope that his termination can be viewed (or spun) as nasty retaliation for his attendance at the rally. With misleading headlines such as the one here, many unfamiliar with Kirk will believe just that.
We really don’t know if the rally attendance prompted ND to cut Kirk loose. Perhaps it was a factor, but neither Solomon nor any poster on this blog knows for sure. What is absolutely factual is Kirk’s long and controversial history of iron fisted rule in residential life. The ND community has been calling for his ouster for years. Students this past semester were arrested after getting off shuttle buses provided to get them back to campus after attending parties. Talk about being set up……”We care about your safety, kids. Don’t drink and drive. Here’s a bus.” Cops stand by to nab the students. Like shooting fish in a barrel.
Unlike professors, administrators have no tenure. Kirk was in the same position as virtually every non-union/tenured worker in the US —- His actions impacted his employment. In Kirk’s case there were years of work-related errors in judgment that were cause for termination, completely unrelated to his pro-life and anti-Obama stands.
bg commented:
++
StickerShock @ 12:55 pm #59
first of all i didn’t state why he was fired..
but they did “restructuring reasons”..
however, why is it not logical to think they fired him due to “his strictness” aka: “following school protocol” (while assigning him to more & more like assignments over 22 years)..
because of what they didn’t say..
surely that would have been the logical out
for them to say that was why he was fired..
bottom line:
it’s not what anyone said, opinion or
otherwise, it’s what was NOT SAID..
that leads me at least, to other conclusions..
==
StickerShock commented:
Beware of making assumptions based on things not said. Something not said, but cooked up in the heads of ND followers, has been drummed into a scandal and put in a headline. Conservatives are better than that. Let’s go with facts, guys. Gateway Pundit isn’t moveOn.org or Keith Olbermann.
ND policy is to never discuss personnel matters surrounding a termination. Even when public figures like football coaches with terrible records are fired there is never a direct, accusatory statement from ND, just some bland boilerplate about an amicable parting of the ways for the coach to move on to another phase of his career. Why would ND say anything negative about a long term employee, and risk legal action? “Good riddance to bad rubbish” may be on the tip of your tongue, but it wouldn’t be wise to let that slip.
Kirk is not an angel nor is he a victim. Yeah, I find the ND obsession with social justice and almost desperate need to climb into the ranks of elite schools — principles be damned –very disappointing. But the Kirk termination has been long overdue. (I’m curious if you have any knowledge of his history, or jumped to the conclusion that ND pushed out a vocal pro-lifer simply because he objected to the Obama degree?) Don’t tie it into the Obama protest until you know that to be true.
ndmom commented:
StickerShock is right. Solomon’s unfortunate diatribe has somehow found its way to dozens of Catholic blogs, all of which have mindlessly reprinted his groundless accusations, complete with misleading headlines.
Here are the facts. For a number of years, Kirk’s decisions regarding residential life infractions and game-day security have been criticized by various members of the ND community. During the spring of 2009, Kirk, along with MANY other students, members of the faculty, administration, and alumni, objected to the Obama invitation and took part in activities sponsored by the NDResponse group on campus. Kirk’s superior, Fr. Poorman, was replaced this spring by Fr. Doyle. Shortly thereafter, Kirk was advised that his services were no longer required, and he left his position. The University does not comment on such personnel matters, and Mr. Kirk has made no public comments on the circumstances of his dismissal.
Solomon, and many others who know nothing about the situation, have concluded that Notre Dame fired Kirk BECAUSE OF his (and his wife’s) involvement with NDResponse. Solomon claims that Kirk should not have been fired because he is a personal friend, great guy, the husband of Solomon’s assistant, and was adopting a child.
I expect more from orthodox Catholic blogs than such sloppy reasoning and outright calumny. Perhaps I was mistaken.
bg commented:
++
StickerShock @ 6:11 pm #61
first of all, i made no “assumptions”..
i am going “with the facts” presented..
you have something to prove he was fired due to (fitb)??
thank you..
==
bg commented:
++
ndmom @ 7:15 pm #62
so you, like the rest of us, have
nothing but “opinion” to offer..
==
bg commented:
++
irrespective of why he was fired, shame on ND..
i can only speak for myself, but i certainly expected much more from a so
called CATHOLIC INSTITUTION than to bestow honor on someone who
is left of NARAL..
==
StickerShock commented:
Again, bg — two independent actions by ND. One was the odious decision to award the honorary degree to Obama. Yes, I would agree with you on that point. Shame on Notre Dame.
The second action by ND was firing Kirk. About time! Solomon presents no facts. He is supporting his friend and frankly, his judgment is not to be trusted in this matter. Kirk was the only person fired because there is a very thick file of complaints about his job performance. You claim to be going with the “facts presented.” NDmom & I are making you aware that Solomon’s “facts” are not facts, and inviting you to look into Kirk’s checkered history at ND. You stubbornly refuse to consider that his firing was justified because it fits the narrative you wish to spin. Then you flippantly state, “irrespective of why he was fired…” Sorry, that doesn’t fly. You lose credibility when you ignore the truth or create a fiction to fit your neat little package. The headline stated that Kirk was fired because of his pro-life stand. If Kirk had a squeaky clean record, perhaps that would be an avenue to explore, but there is no justification for making that claim or putting it out as a headline. Not cool. And certainly not helpful in changing hearts and minds in the struggle to build a culture of life.
bg commented:
++
StickerShock @ 8:58 pm #66
no one presented any “facts”..
bottom line:
it’s not what anyone said, opinion or
otherwise, it’s what was NOT SAID..
you evidently want your opinion as to why he was fired to be the “facts”..
however, i don’t see anything that backs them up..
look, i don’t care if he stripped naked &
pranced around the girls locker room..
there’s been no evidence proffered
that he was fired for doing his job..
and sorry, but opinions facts do not make..
imho however, the logic points more to his
anti-Obama stance than anything else..
also once heard that there are no such
things as coincidences, coincidence??
==
bg commented:
++
it’s all Bush, uh, Kirk’s fault!!
==