Notre Dame, Saint Mary's extend benefits to same-sex spouses
SOUTH BEND -- With same-sex marriage now recognized under Indiana law, the University of Notre Dame and Saint Mary's College will extend benefits to all legally married spouses of employees, including same-sex spouses.
Notre Dame notified employees of the change via email late Wednesday.
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear appeals from decisions striking down bans on same-sex marriage in several states, including Indiana.
"This means that the law in Indiana now recognizes same-sex marriages and the University will extend benefits to all legally married spouses, including same-sex spouses," Notre Dame's email to employees stated.
"Notre Dame is a Catholic university and endorses a Catholic view of marriage. However, it will follow the relevant civil law and begin to implement this change immediately," the email read.
The number of employee families that will be covered under the expanded policy won't be known until employees begin signing up for the benefits, Notre Dame spokesman Paul Browne said.
Saint Mary's, a Catholic women's college, also will follow the law and immediately extend benefits to all legally married spouses of employees, including same-sex spouses, college spokeswoman Gwen O'Brien said Thursday.
Aaron Nichols, an openly gay staff member in Notre Dame's College of Arts & Letters, said he was thrilled and honestly surprised by Notre Dame's change in policy. He said the university has made remarkable progress in recent years to make the campus a more welcoming place for gay students and employees.
"Being an out staff member, I feel a lot more confident that my concerns are being heard and responded to," Nichols said. "The university is no longer acting in a vacuum. ... That makes me proud to be ND."
The Tribune contacted Holy Cross College, also a Catholic institution, to ask about the current benefits policy and whether it will change because of the change in Indiana law. "Holy Cross College has no comment until we are able to further study the issue," college spokeswoman Jodie Sweet said via email.
Ancilla College in Donaldson, another Catholic college, doesn't currently offer benefits to same-sex spouses of employees. College leaders will discuss the matter as part of the college's shared benefits program with other ministries of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, said Mike Brown, the college's chief financial officer. If the policy is to change, the changes likely would take effect Jan. 1, he said.
Bethel College, affiliated with the Missionary Church, doesn't currently offer benefits to same-sex spouses of employees. "We are grateful to live in a nation dedicated to true religious pluralism, not secularism. And by that provision, we long for a mood in the citizenry and courts to sustain the long precedent for religious institutions to exercise their conscience. Just as Notre Dame sought exemption from new mandates to supply birth control, but seeks no exemptions on same-sex benefits, we might discover the free exercise of religion on hiring and benefits matters at Bethel produces different results than other religiously defined Colleges," Bethel President Gregg Chenoweth said in an email Thursday to the Tribune.
Goshen College, which is affiliated with the Mennonite Church, doesn't offer benefits to same-sex spouses of employees, college spokeswoman Jodi Beyeler said. Anyone applying to work there must agree to the college's Commitment to Community Standards, which includes a section stating the Mennonite Church places sexual intercourse within the covenant of marriage between a woman and man, and therefore employees are expected to follow that understanding.
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