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Volume 52, Issue 32 | wednesday, october 11, 2017 | ndsmcobserver.com
Students march for reproductive rights Graduate Workers Collective leads demonstration to protest University’s stance on health care mandate By KELLI SMITH News Writer
The Graduate Workers Collective of Notre Dame hosted a demonstration Tuesday at Main Building to peacefully protest the University’s stance on a recent mandate by the Trump administration regarding health insurance. Titled “March for Reproductive Freedom,” the demonstration arose as a response to a statement released by University President Fr. John Jenkins on Friday. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced two mandates earlier that day, which reversed a rule
created under former President Barack Obama’s administration. The rule required employers to offer health insurance — including all FDA-approved contraceptives — to employees with few exceptions, according to the HHS website. Jenkins’ statement said the University “welcome[s] the reversal” of the rule. Under the new ordinances implemented by the Trump administration, employers no longer have to cover health services to which they object for religious or moral reasons. Undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty see MARCH PAGE 4
Priest examines geopolitics
KELLI SMITH | The Observer
Led by the Graduate Workers Collective of Notre Dame, students, faculty and staff gather outside Main Building on Tuesday to share stories related to reproductive rights and protest a University statement.
Professors explore themes in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ By COLLEEN ZEWE News Writer
SARAH OLSON | The Observer
Fr. Antonio Spadaro lectures on Pope Francis and the response of the Vatican to predicaments across the world Tuesday. By TOM NAATZ News Writer
Traveling to the corners of the world, Pope Francis has exemplified a “diplomacy of mercy,” Fr. Antonio Spadaro, the editor-in-chief of the Jesuit journal “La Civilta Cattolica,” said. “For Pope Francis, mercy isn’t an abstract construct,” Spadaro said. “It is the action of God in the world.” Spadaro delivered the Terrence R. Keeley Vatican Lecture on Tuesday at the Hesburgh Center for
NEWS PAGE 3
International Studies. The lecture, titled “The Geopolitics of Mercy,” explored the response of Francis and the Vatican to various crises across the world. Spadaro said that in order to find God in the world, it is important for the church to put itself in the middle things. He described the Catholic Church as a “field hospital” amidst the world’s turmoil. “If you want to find God, you have to go into the world,” Spadaro said. Spadaro focused the lecture see GEOPOLITICS PAGE 4
Scene PAGE 5
To prepare for the upcoming Christian Culture Lecture, Saint Mary’s hosted a discussion about “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood on Tuesday. Speakers included Phyllis Kaminski of the religious studies and gender and women’s studies departments, Ann Marie Short of the English department and Laura Williamson Ambrose of the humanistic studies
department. The three professors reflected on their own interpretations of the novel. Ambrose discussed the novel’s genre. She said she does not believe the novel belongs to science fiction or feminist genres and that Atwood resists labels. Instead, the novel belongs in the speculative fiction genre, Ambrose said. This genre is particularly scary for many readers because it is so realistic, she added. “Speculative fiction says this
could maybe happen tomorrow,” Ambrose said. “It’s more frightening and provocative than science fiction and a distant galaxy, far, far away. … Speculative fiction makes the work of ignoring a little bit harder.” Kaminski first read the novel as a doctoral student in Canada. She said she thinks Atwood’s Canadian nationality has a large influence on the novel, and helps Atwood look at the United see HANDMAID PAGE 3
Student group prepares for Marian consecration By ERIN GRIMES News Writer
With the Feast of the Immaculate Conception happening in just under two months, some Catholics are preparing to consecrate themselves to Mary through a Marian consecration. “In simplest terms, it’s basically giving your life to Christ,
viewpoint PAGE 7
but through his mother Mary,” senior Julie Weilbaker said. “So it is entrusting ourselves, our souls, our lives, all of our works, joys and sufferings to Mary as an offering to Jesus.” Weilbaker said this year’s Marian consecration will focus on what it means to dedicate one’s life to Mary. The group will read the book “33 Days to Morning Glory” in preparation
for the consecration. “A big part of the consecration that we are doing, which is called ‘33 Days to Morning Glory,’ is learning what is a consecration to Mary,” she said. “Because there are different books written about it, different prayers that you can do … and this one is really focused on learning what
MEN’S SOCCER PAGE 12
ND WOMEN’S TENNIS PAGE 12
see MARIAN PAGE 3