Mary Help of Christians Basilica on the campus of Belmont Abbey College. / Credit: Rnrivas, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 20, 2025 / 16:30 pm (CNA).
Here’s a roundup of the latest Catholic education news in the United States:
Retired Army general, Notre Dame professor to serve as president of Belmont Abbey College
Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina announced that Jeffrey Talley, a retired three-star lieutenant general in the U.S. Army and former tenured professor at the University of Notre Dame, will serve as its new president.
In a Nov. 18 press release announcing the appointment, Talley said the school has a “unique opportunity” to “help young men and women get a rigorous academic experience in a faith-filled environment that’s strong in its Catholic identity so they can go forth in a world that’s become so challenging, so complex, so difficult.”
Talley will assume the position of the college’s 21st president on Jan. 2, 2026. The chair of Belmont Abbey College’s board of trustees, Charles Cornelio, said in the release that the appointment comes after a seven-month search.
Talley “is a person of deep Catholic faith who understands the mission of the college and will live it,” Cornelio said, highlighting the general’s decades-long history as a Benedictine oblate.
“Leaders who are balanced both morally and professionally are in greater need than ever before. For this purpose, Belmont Abbey College exists,” Talley said. “I thank God for the opportunity to become part of the Belmont Abbey College family, where together we can bear the light of Christ in the world today.”
Notre Dame professor attempts to distribute contraceptives, Plan B on campus
A professor of gender studies at the University of Notre Dame attempted to use university space to facilitate the distribution of contraceptives and Plan B, according to a Nov. 19 report published by the student-run paper the Irish Rover.
Pamela Butler, who is the director of undergraduate studies for the school’s gender studies department, has reportedly been reserving rooms in violation of university code for the group “Irish 4 Reproductive Health,” according to the Rover.
School guidelines grant the use of university buildings and grounds for “recognized student groups.” The “reproductive health” group — which stated in the report it was “not affiliated with the university in any official capacity” — has been distributing free “resource bags” with condoms, Plan B, and information on abortion services for students in the university’s DeBartolo Hall.
The group also openly advertises the distribution of contraception on Instagram as well as “workshops” hosted on campus on “exploring the principles of pro-choice Catholicism, how Catholic teaching supports reproductive justice, and how these ideas inform advocacy.”
Minnesota Catholic institutions, including schools and universities, hit by pension deficit
The pension fund covering multiple Catholic schools and universities across Minnesota has been hit by an $800 million deficit, threatening retirement resources for thousands of current and former workers.
The pension manager, Christian Brothers Services, is asking employers to make increased contributions to compensate for the massive shortfall, according to a report in the Minnesota Star Tribune, which cited “a big loss in a hedge fund that cratered a few years ago” in 2020 as reason for the deficit.
Christian Brothers Services is a nonprofit organization that operates a church pension plan, one that is not bound by federal pension regulations, meaning pensioners are not eligible for federal payouts if their plans fail, according to the IRS.
The Chicago-based organization manages the pensions of over 40 schools across the Dioceses of New Ulm, Crookston, and St. Cloud, as well as lay workers, and workers at St. Mary’s University in Winona and Minneapolis.
Two schools have since pulled from the plan, according to the local report, while two others are planning to do so.
