The president of Notre Dame University John Jenkins, a Catholic priest, has tested positive for the coronavirus. He had attended a reception at the White House on Saturday and was seen not wearing a mask and shaking hands with people.

BREAKING — Notre Dame University President John Jenkins has tested positive… He attended the ceremony for Amy Coney Barrett on Saturday and was not wearing a mask and shaking hands…. 😷 https://t.co/6dRyHq9ZwP

— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) October 2, 2020

Here is a photo of the event last Saturday that is now being described as a ‘super spreader’ event. The mind boggles at how few masks are being worn and how close everyone is to each other. True it is outdoors and that reduces some of the risk but still.

“Of course back then, in the 21st century, people didn’t have a good theory of disease. They often thought it was just lies, or that if a disease was real there were secret magical remedies for it, or that only bad people got sick and strong-willed people stayed healthy.” https://t.co/xipwcEicVt

— Kieran Healy (@kjhealy) October 3, 2020

It was Notre Dame University that withdrew from hosting the first debate and that resulted in Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland stepping into the breach.

University of Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., announced today the University has withdrawn as the host site for the first of the 2020 presidential debates, scheduled for Sept. 29.

After consultation with Dr. Mark Fox, St. Joseph County deputy health officer, and with the unanimous support of the Executive Committee of the University’s Board of Trustees, Father Jenkins made what he called “this difficult decision because the necessary health precautions would have greatly diminished the educational value of hosting the debate on our campus.”
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Father Jenkins added: “I am grateful to the many members of the University community who have devoted countless hours planning this event, and to the Commission on Presidential Debates leadership for their professionalism and understanding. But in the end, the constraints the coronavirus pandemic put on the event — as understandable and necessary as they are — have led us to withdraw.”

Jenkins is president of a damn university, for crying out loud. Universities all over the country are urging their students to engage in safe practices like wearing masks, washing hands, and physical distancing and instead of modeling those safe practices for his students, Jenkins goes out and openly violates them. At least he could have pulled his cassock over his head like a gigantic mask.