(WSBT) Two controversial events at the University of Notre Dame will continue despite disputes earlier in the year.

Wednesday, University president Rev. John Jenkins, C.S.C., announced “The Vagina Monologues” and the “Gay and Lesbian Film Festival” will be allowed on campus.

Jenkins says he spent ten weeks talking to students, faculty and alumni. When it was over, he says he decided that the university could strike a balance between Catholic beliefs and diverse viewpoints.

“Serious discussion and controversy aren’t a problem for a university; they are what a university should be doing,” he told NEWS22. “They’re the very heart of a university, and the fact that we've had this serious discussion -- that people express views responsibly and reasonably -- is a great credit to this institution.”

In January, Father Jenkins was not as supportive of the two productions. A panel of faculty members helped establish guidelines for supporting controversial viewpoints on campus.

Some faculty members say it is important that people understand the difference between ‘supporting’ and ‘endorsing’ these productions. Jenkins says even though Catholicism does not support some of those beliefs, they should be open to discussion in a university setting.

“In a university, sponsorship doesn't mean endorsement,” Notre Dame professor John Roos, Ph.D., told NEWS22. “What it means is that you bring the issues to there's a debate, the Catholic perspective is included in that debate.”

Wednesday morning, Fort Wayne-South Bend Bishop John D’Arcy released a statement expressing his disappointment with the decision:

As pastor of the diocese with the sacred responsibility for the care of souls of all our people, including the young men and women at the University of Notre Dame, and with pastoral concern always for the Catholic identity of Notre Dame, as is my obligation, I am deeply saddened by the decision of Father John Jenkins, CSC, to allow the continuing sponsorship of the “Vagina Monologues” by Notre Dame, the School of Our Lady.

For further understanding of my position on this matter, I refer all to my statement found in the February 12, 2006, issue of Today’s Catholic, and in my statements of the previous two years. All these statements may be found on the diocesan website at http://www.diocesefwsb.org/.

Father Jenkins and some faculty expect people to be upset by the decision. They say it is important to note that the university is not endorsing the productions, just opening up to discussion for different viewpoints.