Introduction
This Bulletin concludes our three-part series on Sycamore Trust’s 17th Annual Breakfast with a personal reflection from Werner Graf (ND ’86), who attended the event and shares his perspective on the remarks of Michael Canady, recipient of this year’s Student Award for Outstanding Service to Notre Dame’s Catholic Identity.
Our previous Bulletins featured the presentations of Notre Dame Professor Emeritus Fr. Wilson Miscamble, C.S.C., and constitutional law attorney James Bopp, Jr., who represented The Irish Rover in the defamation lawsuit brought against it by Notre Dame professor Tamara Kay. Tamara Kay.
Michael Canady, a junior from Falls Church, Virginia, majoring in Classics and minoring in Constitutional Studies, served last year as Editor-in-Chief of The Irish Rover. He oversaw the publication of more than 250 articles across 11 print issues, sustaining the paper’s proud tradition as Notre Dame’s only independent Catholic student newspaper. Under his leadership, the Rover remained a vigilant and articulate witness to Catholic truth on campus—unflinching in its reporting on issues bearing on the University’s Catholic mission.
We are proud to recognize Michael with this year’s Student Award for Outstanding Service to Notre Dame’s Catholic Identity.
“More Than Just a Force for Good”
By Werner Graf, ND ’86
In the 2000 movie “Gladiator,” Marcus Aurelius, the famous stoic, noted “there was a dream that was Rome. You could only whisper it. Anything more than a whisper and it would vanish…it was so fragile.” It was a nod towards Cicero and Virgil, that Rome was an idea, not a place, and this concept can apply to all great institutions, including Notre Dame.
Student Michael Canady (ND ’26) clearly understands the “Idea of Notre Dame.” In Father Miscamble’s opening keynote, he cited Michael with the following praise: “It was hardly an easy task to run a paper whose previous editors have been subject to a disgraceful lawsuit launched by a faculty member.” Michael not only stepped into the breach to lead the Irish Rover, but has excelled in the role, thereby protecting the “Idea of Notre Dame.”
Formed by Truth and Trial
Michael opened his comments by acknowledging predecessors, mentors, colleagues and Notre Dame, for helping form his world view, and particularly a fighting spirit for the truth, “despite the costs.”
He noted in particular the impact of the lawsuit brought by Professor Tamara Kay against the student newspaper under his predecessor, Joseph DeReuil (ND ’24).
It was before my time. But I can personally attest that the example of my friends who stood firm—who would not be silenced—was influential in my own personal development. I wanted to be part of a community and an institution that would stand up for truth and speak it plainly, without hiding behind platitudes and fear.
What attitude more embodies the idea, the spirit, of Notre Dame?
What’s at Stake
Michael went on to offer a clear-headed, concise assessment of what is at stake in defending Our Lady’s University against attacks from “very real people.”
Notre Dame is a battleground. She is under attack, from without and from within.
Noting that Notre Dame is “teetering between a commitment to the truth, and a deference to secularism,” Canady stressed that, on issues of relevance and moral importance,
directness is what is needed. These things shouldn’t be handled privately and slowly; they should be handled with decisiveness and clarity by the university administration.
Michael aptly noted that those pushing Notre Dame toward secularism “speak their views unabashedly.” Moreover, the allegations made in the lawsuit brought by Professor Kay — claiming that the students had “acted with malice, wanton and willful misconduct, and a reckless disregard for the truth, all with the intent to damage and negatively impact the plaintiff” — illustrate just how vicious such efforts can be. Yet even as these students endured the distress of being sued by a member of their own university’s faculty, the administration did not so much as acknowledge the ordeal to a single member of The Rover’s staff — a silence as telling as it is troubling.
The stakes could not be higher, and the other side realizes this. They do not hide behind qualms of indecision and fear of punishment. They speak their views unabashedly. And yet how many authentically Catholic professors and administrators can you find that will still speak, in the open, the truth about abortion, about gender ideology, about DEI? You can find some, but that number is dwindling, and it’s dwindling fast.
The Cost of Courage
Michael is fully cognizant of real-world consequences in speaking for the Gospel of Christ and against the gospels of DEI, gender ideology and abortion. He and his colleagues at the Rover have been ostracized, minimized, and “cancelled” for forthright and honest thought—and yet they persist. In short, it is the definition of heroism.
Choosing to Fight
I wish the entire Notre Dame family would hold the University true to the “what would you fight for” standard of its marketing campaign. All too many of my fellow alumni, when disappointed with the drift of Notre Dame, simply abandon it, withhold donations and withdraw. Some reduce their engagement to football games and nostalgic trips. Michael’s approach is better:
Whenever I talk to Catholic students who are considering attending Notre Dame, I want to be clear: I say, undoubtedly, yes. Notre Dame is the best place to go, if you’re up for it. I love this institution with all my heart.
But come ready to fight. And the fight will form you into more than just good people in society, who care about the values of democracy, sustainability, and poverty. It will form you into more than just a vague “force for good” in the world. Notre Dame is a battleground, but on that battleground, you will become a defender of the truth, no matter the cost.
Indeed.
The Call to Engage
During my four years at Notre Dame many years ago, I was fortunate to participate in the boxing program. I remember coach demonstrating how to score defensive points—parrying jabs, ducking hooks, slipping right crosses and blocking uppercuts. He always concluded this with the comment: “Remember, you can score points this way, but you can’t win the fight.” Concerned alumni can’t withdraw nor should we confine our response to defense. There need to be overt battles with those actively eroding the institution.
Notre Dame is more than gold leaf on a structure. It is more than victories and excellence in academics. It is more than ratings, rankings and nostalgia. In fact, you can argue Notre Dame is none of those things. It is an idea rooted in the pursuit of truth. Truth is worth fighting for and with stewards like Michael Canady, his Rover colleagues, and able sponsors like the Sycamore Trust carrying the fight forward, the “Idea of Notre Dame” has a chance to not only survive, but flourish.
Watch The Presentation
You can download a copy of Michael Canady’s remarks here.
Note: The Irish Rover is an indispensable resource for those seeking to protect Notre Dame’s Catholic identity. If you don’t already receive their paper in print ($36) or pdf ($15), please consider subscribing at https://irishrover.net/subscriptions.
Werner Graf
Werner Graf is a 1986 Notre Dame alumnus with a secondary teaching degree from St. Mary's College. He is a retired C-level executive and founder of the Graf Dairy Hero Foundation, an organization dedicated to the character formation of America's youth.
A Call to Action
The stakes at Notre Dame could not be higher. Groups like the Alumni Rainbow Community (ARC ND) have made alarming strides in normalizing identities and experiences that stand in direct opposition to Catholic teaching and tradition. Meanwhile, the University’s DEI infrastructure—now under scrutiny by both the Trump Administration and Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita—offers a rare opportunity for reform.
The cultural forces transforming Notre Dame are organized, resourced, and relentless. To respond with equal seriousness, Sycamore Trust must expand its reach, deepen its research, and amplify the voices that still speak with Catholic clarity.
There are many ways that you can join the fight for Notre Dame’s Catholic identity—by giving of your time (especially in prayer), talent, or treasure.
The funds we receive are used to continue our work to keep you informed, organize events and activities to strengthen our collective voice, and financially support the efforts on campus by students and their organizations to stand tall for the Truth of Catholicism.
If you share our love for Notre Dame and want to see an authentic Catholic renewal under the Dome, please consider lending a hand in whatever way you are able.
Oremus
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, fountain of infinite Mercy and Love, we worship, praise and adore You!
When You revealed Your Wounded Heart to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque You reminded us of the price You paid for our salvation and of the boundless love You have for each of us.
Through the mission of this holy nun, confirmed by the Church, You invite each one of us to come and behold Your Sacred Heart, which so loves mankind, and is so little loved in return.
You invite us to console You by our own faith, love and devotion offered to You, and You call us to make reparation for all the sins, indifferences, sacrileges and abuses by which Your Divine Majesty is offended.
We at Sycamore Trust join all the faithful of our Notre Dame Family in responding to Your invitation. We pray that Notre Dame will always reverence and honor Your Most Sacred Heart and will reject all that is contrary to Your Goodness, Purity, Mercy and Love. We pray that the campus of our beloved alma mater will become a beacon of light, hope and virtue for all.
May Mary, Our Lady of the Most Sacred Heart, intercede for us as we make our prayer to You, who live and reign with the Father, in the Unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.
Submit Your Mass Intention
Father John J. Raphael (’89) offers a monthly Mass for the intentions of our Sycamore Trust community. If you have an intention that you would like him to include at his next Mass, you may submit it by clicking on the following button.
