The president of a self-described Catholic university is endorsing controversial drag shows on campus, despite students’ protests. Ahead of a drag show “symposium” scheduled for November 3rd at the University of Notre Dame, the school’s president Fr. John Jenkins is defending the perverse performances as a matter of “academic freedom” and “freedom of expression.” Students seeking to preserve the institution’s historical Catholic identity have been emailing Jenkins with concerns that the drag shows — which are part of a one-credit course presented by the Film, Television, and Theater Department on the history of drag — are in conflict with the Catholic Church’s teachings on gender and sexual morality.

According to a report by The Federalist, students’ emails are answered with an automated response from Jenkins, reading, “We defend this freedom even when the content of the presentation is objectionable to some or even many. The event you reference is part of a one-credit course in Film, Television and Theater on the history of drag, and the principle of academic freedom applies.” Thus far, over 400 students, faculty members, and alumni have emailed Jenkins requesting the drag show be canceled or defunded. (READ MORE from S.A. McCarthy: Polish Jesuit Calls on Pope To Uphold Marriage)

This follows Notre Dame professor Pamela Wojcik, who is teaching the course and organizing the drag “symposium,” arguing that drag and drag shows don’t conflict with Catholic teaching. “Notre Dame is an institute of higher learning engaged in intellectual inquiry,” Wojcik said, adding, “I don’t see any conflict with the university mission or culture in the course. I believe our students have the right to consider truths about all topics.”

Notre Dame’s conservative student newspaper The Irish Rover recently published an op-ed contradicting Wojcik and defending the university’s Catholic identity. Penned by Notre Dame senior and editor-in-chief of The Irish Rover Nico Schmitz, the article declares, “In supporting lies about the human person — lies that say men can be women and that a minstrel show of femininity is a legitimate art form — the university is not only actively working against her mission, but permitting irreparable damage to its community and image.” Schmitz further wrote, “Drag shows, even when not performed for children, dishonor and violate … natural order. They skew the line between genders and celebrate the chaos and confusion of gender dysphoria under the guise of ‘self-expression.’” He concluded, “Fundamentally, a drag show mocks all that it means to be a woman by painting a hyper-sexualized picture and making her an object of derision.”

Women at Notre Dame agree. Students Madelyn Stout and Merlot Fogarty wrote an open letter earlier this month deriding the drag performances as an affront to women, saying that womanhood “is warped and mocked in the burlesque-styled form of entertainment that drag ultimately is,” and arguing, “A drag show absolutely constitutes the harassment of women. In drag across the country, biological males dress in provocative women’s clothing and portray sexual violence for the sake of entertainment.” The letter further notes:

This event is not for the sake of study or dialogue; it is not the result of a faculty or students’ research; it is not for the sake of academic inquiry. Three male “artists” are being paid to parade around in provocative women’s clothing under the guise of “self-expression” and “bodily autonomy.” If this is academic freedom, then the phrase is meaningless. Academic freedom should not be used as a weapon of opinionized activism.

Stout and Fogarty wrote, “Women have been at Notre Dame now for fifty years. The leaps made in the opportunities available to us are immense. Yet, we’re told to remain silent while femininity is publicly degraded by men who believe that womanhood can be reduced to exaggerated makeup, provocative clothing, and erotic dance.” The authoresses conclude, “Women are harassed, objectified, and mocked through events at a university that claims to be dedicated to the pursuit of truth and protection of human dignity. The line has been crossed. Enough is enough. Our very identity is being ridiculed under Mary’s watchful eye.” (READ MORE: Debunking the Myth of ‘Hitler’s Pope’)

“Notre Dame,” of course, is French for “Our Lady,” referring to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Like so many cathedrals of old, the university is named after the Mother of God and placed under her patronage, making the scheduled lampooning of womanhood on the campus that much more insulting.

Once a pinnacle of the Catholic intellectual tradition in the United States, Notre Dame has struggled to maintain its Catholic identity in recent years. Notably, pro-abortion president Barack Obama was invited to deliver the school’s commencement address in 2009, drawing criticism from students, alumni, and Catholics across the nation. More recently, the university hosted an event featuring a transgender “abortion doula,” prompting Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend to blast the school for its “explicit act of dissent” from Catholic teaching and its own commitment to the dignity and sanctity of human life. Professors at Notre Dame have also publicly argued in favor of abortion and even sued students for noting that their activism is incompatible with Catholic moral teaching.

The Western world and the rich intellectual tradition that colleges and universities purport to uphold and advance is based on the Catholic understanding of truth and was pioneered by Catholics. Although sad, it may come as no surprise that secular schools — cutting themselves off from Christ and from Truth — have become leftist indoctrination camps, dens of debauchery, and strongholds of LGBT ideology. But for a school to insist on calling itself Catholic, to claim to honor and revere the Blessed Virgin, and yet to repeatedly undermine the teachings of the Church is more than merely sad or distressing, it is angering. The hypocrisy evinced by Notre Dame leadership particularly over the past year is appalling. It will be up to future generations of bold Catholics, some of whom are now students at Notre Dame, to reclaim and restore Catholic institutions across the Western world.