Campus Notes

Vulnerabilility isn’t something we think to strive for. We often see it as something that happens to us, something to be avoided.

But the Identity Project of Notre Dame’s 7th Annual Edith Stein Project held a seminar earlier this month called “Encountering Vulnerability: Courage, Trust, and Hope in the 21st Century.”

The event on Notre Dame’ website asked “What does it mean to be “vulnerable?”

The idea of “vulnerability” often carries with it a negative connotation: abuse, instability, heartache. As such, we think of vulnerability as something to eradicate from our lives. But, because of our finite human nature, we will always be limited in our abilities and strengths. As Blessed John Paul II said, “No amount of economic, scientific or social progress can eradicate our vulnerability to sin and to death.” This gives us good reason to guard ourselves carefully in situations where we could be harmed; however, in trying to protect ourselves, we often come to fear our vulnerability.

But perhaps there is a flip side to vulnerability. In addition to examining ways in which it may be misused, we must also consider its value. If vulnerability is intrinsic to us as human beings, is there a proper place for it in our identity and our relationships?

Kathryn Lopez of National Review Online fame attended the conference and later wrote on The Corner:

The young women — who were joined by many of their male classmates — were interested not in political mantras but in practicalities: How do we confront reality rather than coming up with policies and pills to help us try to escape the inescapable?

The task of the weekend conference was to ask, as its organizers put it: “Perhaps there is a flip side to vulnerability. In addition to examining ways in which it may be misused, we must also consider its value. If vulnerability is intrinsic to us as human beings, is there a proper place for it in our identity and our relationships?”

The answer lies, in part, in Saint Paul, who recognized that “it is when I am weak that I am strong.” And the exploration of the “defenseless vulnerability of love” is a weekly task at Notre Dame, as part of the Identity Project, in which students meet each week to reflect on Catholic teaching on women, femininity, and masculinity. The answer, too, is in their identity as Christians who present themselves regularly for Mass and Reconciliation, seeking sustenance from Providence, which no earthly power or principality can match.

The Edith Stein conference and the weekly related meetings attract almost as many young men as women — not surprisingly, inasmuch as their discussions are about the complementary nature of men and women. “Women and men have to understand femininity and masculinity if they are going to relate to one another in any kind of healthy way,” explains Margaret Kennedy, a junior and an accounting major.

To read more about what seems like an excellent conference, click here.