Catholic universities in the Trump era

I appreciate Mary Leary’s reflection on the lessons of history and the safeguarding of the rule of law. I have been wondering about how Catholic universities should proactively engage a political era in which we may increasingly see, as she puts it, “the normalization of the objectification of other human beings by those in power.”  Over the past few decades, legalized abortion has been an issue that facilitated relatively clear line-drawing for Catholic universities.  (Whether or not a Catholic university recognized or honored those lines is another question, of course.) 

But in the era of Trump, where should the institutional witness of Catholic universities emerge? I’m not talking about the political advocacy of individual members of Catholic university communities, but about the issues on which institutional weight is brought to bear.  E.g., over the next four years, when and on what issues should a Catholic university be paying for bus transport for students to join protests?  Where do we see university leaders, in their official capacities, speaking out?  Where should law school clinics be jumping into the fray?  And how will these points of tension with the emerging (or already prevailing) order look different than they did under President Obama and his predecessors?  Does it all depend on future events, or are there already lines that we should be drawing now?   We’ve already seen one example in the response of Catholic universities to perceived threats to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.  If we project to the end of the Trump Administration, where should our students and the broader public have seen the moral witness of Catholic universities expressed most clearly and consistently?  

One challenge is that much of what is objectionable, from a Catholic perspective, about our President-elect does not lend itself easily to institutional protest or pronouncements.  His rhetoric, priorities, self-absorption, scapegoating of others, and fomenting of distrust in institutions all were important factors as Catholics decided how to cast their votes in November.  But now that he's been elected, how should those objectionable qualities shape the response of Catholic universities to President Trump?  It makes sense to protest pending legislation.  It's much less obvious how or why to protest the President's demonstrated lack of important virtues.  

So how do Catholic universities work collaboratively with governing authorities in the era of Trump to advance the common good without normalizing the behavior and views that are in such tension with the Church's teaching?  My own inclination is that the potential good of collaboration outweighs the danger of normalization unless and until President Trump acts to implement some of the more noxious policy proposals that he floated on the campaign trail.  Though we should hope for the best, we should be proactive in preparing for the possibility that the darker themes of Trump's life and campaign will emerge in ways that compel Catholic universities to act.