Last week I got an e-mail from Mr. Charles F. Lennon, Jr., Executive Director of the Notre Dame Alumni Association, first listing some of the causes for which they are fighting, and asking for monetary contributions to assist in the various good works being done. I decided that what we had to offer was much better than mere money, and sent the following letter, to which he has not yet had time to respond:
Charles F. Lennon, Jr., ND '62
Executive Director
Notre Dame Alumni Association
Dear Mr. Lennon:
Thank you for your e-mail regarding the ad during the Notre Dame/San Diego game this past Saturday. The campaign raises an important issue concerning the role of Notre Dame and the impact it can have on the surrounding culture in the United States and throughout the world. For that reason I am taking the time to draw your attention to an effort ("Saving Notre Dame") to make certain that the University retains its special character and maintains its unique traditions. I have publicized this to a limited extent on our blog, which can either be accessed directly, or through the link on the web site of our interfaith Center for Economic and Social Justice ("CESJ"), www.cesj.org.
Since you mentioned the issue specifically in your e-mail, you might be especially interested in CESJ's proposed "Homeowners' Equity Corporation," designed specifically to address the subprime mortgage crisis (now spreading into "prime" territory), but which can also be used to finance adequate and affordable housing for people whose only current alternative is substandard housing. You will also notice a number of postings on the blog regarding this issue as well.
In view of the traditional concern of Notre Dame alumni for social justice, I would also like to draw your attention to Introduction to Social Justice by one of CESJ's co-founders, the late Father William J. Ferree, S.M., Ph.D., Chairman of Dayton University, as well as our overall pro life economic program embodied in our book, Capital Homesteading for Every Citizen (2004).
If any of this interests you, I urge you in the strongest possible terms to make contact with CESJ's president, Dr. Norman G. Kurland, whom I am cc.ing on this e-mail, along with CESJ friends Dr. Charles Rice of the Notre Dame Law School and Father Edward Krause, C.S.C., Ph.D. (fellow alumnus and son of Notre Dame's long-term Athletic Director, "Moose" Krause), who recently participated in the First Social Justice Collaborative in St. Louis, at which I delivered the keynote address.
Donations to CESJ are tax deductible in the United States under IRC § 501(c)(3):