Saint Mary’s College in Indiana, an all-women’s Catholic college, has reversed a controversial decision to admit biological males who identify as women.
In an email to the college’s community, Saint Mary’s College President Katie Conboy said the university is reverting back to its prior policy of only admitting biological women after the college’s initial decision to admit males who identify as women was roundly condemned.
FOUR TIMES DEMOCRATS HAVE BACKED SOMETHING THAT MAY COME BACK TO BITE THEM
“Some worried that this was much more than a policy decision: they felt it was a dilution of our mission or even a threat to our Catholic identity,” Conboy said. “Moreover, we clearly underestimated our community’s genuine desire to be engaged in the process of shaping a policy of such significance. As this last month unfolded, we lost people’s trust and unintentionally created division where we had hoped for unity. For this, we are deeply sorry.”
🚨🚨BREAKING: @saintmarys has issued a statement REVERSING their admissions policy that would allow biological men to attend the Catholic women’s college.
I just received an alumni email detailing the decision & would like to thank Bishop Kevin Rhoades, the @diocesefwsb, and… pic.twitter.com/obYA7fhkhT
— Clare Anne Ath (@clareanneath) December 21, 2023
Conboy said that the board, “taking all these factors into consideration,” had decided to return to its prior admissions policy.
“Although this has been a challenging time for our community, we believe that the College should continually grapple with the complexity of living our Catholic values in a changing world,” she said.
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The college’s initial decision to admit biological males had drawn condemnation from Kevin Rhoades, the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of South Bend, Indiana, who wrote in a public letter that he was disappointed that the college had not “included or consulted” with him on “a matter of important Catholic teaching.” He also raised concerns that the college’s definition of “woman” did not conform to the Catholic definition. The bishop urged the school to change course and revert back to its original policy.
“The desire of Saint Mary’s College to show hospitality to people who identify as transgender is not the problem. The problem is a Catholic woman’s college embracing a definition of woman that is not Catholic,” he wrote at the time. “I urge the Board of Trustees of Saint Mary’s College to correct its admissions policy in fidelity to the Catholic identity and mission it is charged to protect and to reject ideologies of gender that contradict the authoritative teachings of the Catholic Church regarding the human person, sex and gender.”
