'Threat to Catholic Identity:' Women's College Bans Trans Applicants After Bigots Complain

A Catholic women's college in Indiana has reversed its trans-inclusive admissions policy after conservatives complained that it posed a "threat to Catholic identity."

Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame announced its updated nondiscrimination policy in November, which stated that the school would consider applicants who are cis women, and also those who "consistently live and identify as women." The policy change was announced in a message to students, first reported by campus newspaper The Observer.

The Saint Mary's College Board of Trustees reversed the decision on Thursday after backlash from students and donors, as well as the local bishop, Kevin C. Rhoades. The Board stated in a letter to the students and faculty, obtained by local outlet WSBT, that they had "reflected on the sense of division we have experienced in our campus community" since their decision.

"When the Board approved this update, we viewed it as a reflection of our College's commitment to live our Catholic values as a loving and just community. We believed it affirmed our identity as an inclusive, Catholic, women's college," Saint Mary President Katie Conboy and Board of Trustees Chair Maureen Karantz Smith wrote.

"It is increasingly clear, however, that the position we took is not shared by all members of our community," they continued. "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. ... Taking these factors into consideration, the Board has decided that we will return to our previous admission policy."

While conservatives online celebrated the decision, the LGBTQ+ organizations and students affected by it lamented. Faithful America, a Christian social justice organization, called the reversal "heartbreaking."

"News of Saint Mary’s hurtful reversal broke just as Faithful America had been preparing to send the College thousands of predominantly Catholic signatures thanking them for their now-overturned historic and Christ-like inclusivity," a spokesperson told WSBT. "The change is heartbreaking."