Healing our National Dialogue and Political Life with Cardinal McElroy

In a political landscape where many Americans believe political discourse has become unproductive, stressful, and disrespectful, where do we find reason for hope? As part of the 2025-26 Notre Dame Forum on Cultivating Hope, Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., joined University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., on October 17, 2025 for a conversation titled “Healing Our National Dialogue and Political Life.”

A member of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, Cardinal McElroy explored the roots of America’s societal divides and offered strategies to move forward together toward a more unified future.

Since its establishment in 2005, each year the Notre Dame Forum invites campus-wide dialogue about issues of importance to the University, the nation, and the larger world.

This year’s theme is Cultivating Hope. In a world where hope is too often in short supply, our goal is to invite reflection about how each of us can be “seekers of truth, sustainers of hope, and builders of bridges.”

To learn more about the Notre Dame Forum 2025-26, please visit the Forum website.