On a lighter note regarding the Notre Dame commencement debacle, can I just say I am absolutely tired–better, completely exhausted–by this claim that Notre Dame is the most prestigious or important or significant Catholic university in the country? I can name loads more, Boston College to begin with, that I think are of higher quality. Notre Dame just sometimes has a better football team, better TV contract, and a great press office. And a stupid movie starring Ronald Reagan, which wins it no points with me.
The grand irony of my rising to the defense of Notre Dame is that I detest Notre Dame and have since high school. One of my happiest football memories is the University of Tennessee's comeback win over the Fighting Irish in the early 1990s, which I got to enjoy deep in the heart of Notre Dame country. Go Vols!
As for great Catholic colleges and universities, give me a small one, preferably founded by women religious.
