NOTRE DAME, Ind. — A Catholic women's college in northern Indiana has decided to reverse its decision to allow transgender students to attend the university.
Saint Mary's College, in Notre Dame, previously announced in November that it would be allowing allow transgender women to enroll as students starting in fall 2024.
In an email from President Katie Conboy Thursday, the Saint Mary's College Board of Trustees met to discuss the impact of the recent decision and decided the position it took was not supported enough by the community.
"Moreover, we clearly underestimated our community's genuine desire to be engaged in the process of shaping a policy of such significance," the email stated.
The original decision faced lots of backlash from the Catholic community, including Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, who oversees every Catholic church of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.
Following the announcement of the reversal, Rhoades released a statement:
“I am happy and grateful that Saint Mary’s College has returned to its previous admission policy. I am grateful to the Saint Mary’s College Board of Trustees and administration for listening to the voices of the many students and alumnae who embrace the perennial truth of the Gospel and the Church’s teaching that the human person is created by God with a sexual identity, embodied as male or female, with a unity of body and soul."
Saint Mary's is one of just over 30 colleges left in the nation that only allows women to attend, according to the Women's College Coalition.