Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, an all-girls Catholic school, has decided it will not go through with its plan to allow transgender women to attend the institution.
It was reported in November the college planned to allow former men to attend the school. However, the institution has reversed its decision to do so as of Thursday, the Daily Signal first reported. The decision to disallow transgender women to attend came after outcry from both the community and alumni.
#BREAKING: Saint Mary’s College — a Catholic women’s school in Notre Dame, Indiana — is reversing its controversial transgender admissions policy, the school’s president revealed in an email on Thursday. https://t.co/LSoBYX0REu
— Catholic News Agency (@cnalive) December 21, 2023
The Daily Signal obtained an email written by President Katie Conboy on Thursday morning addressing the situation.
“This has weighed heavily on our minds and in our hearts,” Conboy wrote. “There have been many voices responding to us from many places and perspectives. We have listened closely, and we have heard each of you.”
Saint Mary’s announced its intended inclusion of transgender students in late November, The Observer first reported. Conboy led the President’s Task Force for Gender Identity and Expression, which would present housing recommendations and offer Catholic and women’s college identity education, according to The Observer.
“This confidence from our Board underscores their commitment that as an employer, Saint Mary’s must stand firm in its position as an inclusive community leader, and that as educators, we should continue to create an environment where all women belong and thrive,” Conboy wrote in November, according to The Observer.
The decision to overturn this policy resulted from the community being divided, the college’s leaders said, according to The Pillar. The college leaders have since reportedly apologized for the division. (RELATED: ‘War On Families’: Federal ‘Home Visiting’ Program Classifies Parents Who Don’t Let Young Kids Cross-Dress As Potentially Abusive)
“It is increasingly clear, however, that the position we took is not shared by all members of our community. 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’s email read, according to The Pillar.
The decision to call off this new policy is being met with widespread relief in the Catholic community, according to the Daily Signal.
“I’m so proud of the women at Saint Mary’s who were willing to stand up against this anti-women, anti-Catholic policy,” said Clare Bettag, a junior at Saint Mary’s College, according to the Daily Signal. “God’s truth will always win.”