Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Patrick J. Reilly
Mr. Reilly is the founder and president of The Cardinal Newman Society. A frequent commentator on Catholic higher education issues,
he co-edited Newman’s Idea of a University: The American Response and served as an analyst for the U.S. Dept. of Education.
The Newman Guide gives The Cardinal New- and the Church’s pro-life efforts. President
man Society the opportunity to highlight Obama was freely given a Catholic university
Catholic colleges which embrace the mission platform to reiterate his support for abortion.
of Catholic higher education with enthusiasm Without serious consequence—at least by
and general consistency. secular standards—Notre Dame ignored the
But what about the Catholic colleges that forceful protests of 83 American bishops and
are not included? more than 367,000 signers to The Cardinal
The reasons why we have chosen not to Newman Society’s petition.
profile other Catholic colleges vary with each Most Catholic colleges have secularized
institution, often ranging from a lukewarm considerably over the past 40 years, such
Catholic identity to serious scandal. It is not that anyone who attended these colleges in
our intent to imply that any institution is not the 1960s or earlier would scarcely recognize
Catholic—only the bishops have the authority them today. It is no surprise that more than
to make that determination—and the contrast half the colleges in The Newman Guide were
between The Newman Guide colleges and at established after 1970, most in reaction to the
least a few other Catholic institutions is not rapid decline of faithful Catholic education in
strong. We are seeing improvements in Cath- this country.
olic higher education each year. The good news is that a nationwide re-
Nevertheless, the crisis in Catholic high- newal of Catholic higher education is under-
er education is far from over. Generally, but way, and scandals like the Notre Dame com-
certainly not always, families seeking a Cath- mencement honors have only helped mobilize
olic education outside the colleges identified support for significant reform. Not only are
here will discover a sad state of affairs. new, faithful Catholic colleges springing up—
This was starkly evident in May 2009, bishops, religious orders and lay leaders are
when the University of Notre Dame decided planning to establish several more in the next
to bestow an honorary degree on President decade—but nearly every Catholic college in
Barack Obama, further honoring him as the the United States has increased attention to
featured commencement speaker. Acknowl- its core mission. We hope to be able to recom-
edging that the President staunchly supports mend even more colleges in the near future.
abortion rights and had recently expanded Knowledge of these trends is important
embryonic stem cell research, the university to families who are seeking a Catholic college.
justified the honor as an “opportunity for A basic understanding of the state of Catholic
dialogue,” even though a commencement higher education today is valuable not only as
ceremony allows no opportunity for true dia- a precaution, but also as confirmation of the
logue. great treasures we have in the colleges pro-
The result was serious damage to Ameri- filed in this second edition of The Newman
cans’ understanding of “Catholic identity” Guide.
organized under boards of trustees outside that require the mandatum or which at least
Church control. Conforming to secular aca- strive to hire theology professors who are ob-
demia, they whittled away at their core cur- vious candidates for the mandatum; these are
ricula and focused on preparing students for primarily the colleges that are profiled in The
successful careers. Newman Guide.
The resulting problems at Catholic col- In 1990, Pope John Paul II issued Ex corde
leges can largely be summed up into two cat- Ecclesiae, the apostolic constitution on Catholic
egories: higher education, by which he defined what
First, Catholic colleges embraced a dis- constitutes Catholic identity at Catholic col-
torted definition of “academic freedom” such leges. More than a statement of principle, the
that it is difficult to imagine what offensive constitution’s General Norms are binding on
speech or perverse activity might not be pro- Catholic colleges as an application of Canon
tected by it, so long as the ever-changing Law. Ex corde Ecclesiae gives each local bishop
priorities of political correctness are not vio- the legal authority and responsibility to de-
lated. clare a college “Catholic”—or in the case of a
Second, most Catholic colleges have persistently wayward college, to remove the
abandoned responsibility for students’ moral, Catholic label. It requires that every “official
social and spiritual development. The oper- action or commitment of the [college] is to be
ating principle for most American colleges in accord with its Catholic identity.” Catholic
was once in loco parentis; today colleges pro- professors are “to be faithful to, and all other
vide campus facilities, support services and teachers are to respect, Catholic doctrine and
some programming for students, but most morals in their research and teaching.”
without clear objectives for personal growth The results have been encouraging.
or moral standards to define a Catholic cam- Even though compliance with Ex corde Eccle-
pus culture. siae varies widely, most Catholic colleges are
taking steps in a positive direction. The As-
sociation of Catholic Colleges and Universi-
Reform and Renewal ties, which once argued that Ex corde Eccle-
siae is unworkable in the U.S., now pledges to
It seems this very damaging period may have
implement it. Many U.S. bishops are pushing
reached a turning point. Pope John Paul II
quietly for reform, and in more than a few
brought clarity to the situation and helped
instances have publicly decried scandal on
slow the momentum of secularization—per-
Catholic campuses. Lay Catholics have also
haps even reversed the trend. Pope Benedict
urged reform—more than 20,000 of them as
XVI has contributed a vision for Catholic
members of The Cardinal Newman Society,
higher education that reminds college leaders
and others through local efforts and alumni
of the great task to which they are called.
organizations.
The 1983 revision of the Code of Canon
The unity of faith and reason contin-
Law created a new section for Catholic colleg-
ues to be a key theme for Pope Benedict XVI,
es, including the requirement that any Catho-
who—like his predecessor—is a scholar with
lic theology professor must have a mandatum
great appreciation for Catholic higher edu-
(or “mandate”) from the local bishop, affirm-
cation. As philosopher Ralph McInerny has
ing that the professor will teach within the
said, “It sometimes seems that the only voice
full communion of the Catholic Church. Stu-
insisting on the power of human reason is
dents now have reasonable assurance of the
that of the Holy Father.” His great intellect
orthodoxy of theology professors at colleges
and insight are having their impact especially tablishment of new, faithful Catholic colleges.
in theology courses, and college leaders are The 1970s gave rise to Christendom College,
intently watching the former Vatican prefect Thomas Aquinas College, and others that
who successfully defused the liberation the- have since built strong and well-deserved
ology movement and disciplined wayward reputations. We are now in the midst of a
theologians. new wave of colleges, with plans underway
In April 2009, Pope Benedict addressed for several more in the coming years.
Catholic educators at The Catholic University Each of the new colleges is unique and
of America in Washington, D.C. He called on offers something special to Catholic fami-
Catholic educators to address the contempo- lies: one concentrates on the increasingly im-
rary “crisis of truth” that is rooted in a “crisis portant New Media, three serve the rapidly
of faith.” growing Catholic population in the South,
“Are we ready to commit our entire one emphasizes the outdoors and stewardship
self—intellect and will, mind and heart—to of nature, etc. Finding one’s niche at a good
God?” the Holy Father asked. “Do we accept Catholic college is becoming much easier.
the truth Christ reveals? Is the faith tangible Also very exciting are the colleges that
in our universities and schools? Is it given have maintained or restored their Catholic
fervent expression liturgically, sacramentally, identity despite prevailing trends in the op-
through prayer, acts of charity, a concern for posite direction. More are joining this group,
justice and respect for God’s creation? Only but the ones profiled in this Guide deserve
in this way do we really bear witness to the praise for their heroism, often amid much
meaning of who we are and what we up- scorn from faculty and officials at other Cath-
hold.” olic colleges. Students at these colleges should
Pope Benedict also affirmed “the great be prepared to find occasional remnants of a
value of academic freedom. In virtue of this period when Catholic identity was not a top
freedom you are called to search for the truth priority, but students will also find genuine
wherever careful analysis of evidence leads role models who are successfully fighting the
you. Yet it is also the case that any appeal to tide of secularization.
the principle of academic freedom in order to Many of the colleges in The Newman
justify positions that contradict the faith and Guide provide an outstanding education in
the teaching of the Church would obstruct or the Catholic intellectual tradition by means
even betray the university’s identity and mis- of either studying the Great Books of West-
sion; a mission at the heart of the Church’s ern culture or a core curriculum that coher-
munus docendi and not somehow autonomous ently integrates the traditional liberal arts
or independent of it.” disciplines. These point to a renaissance of
Guided by the wisdom and faithful vi- traditional Catholic education, an encourag-
sion of the Vatican and America’s bishops, the ing development.
renewal of Catholic higher education is slowly What makes these colleges different from
becoming reality. But it will take many years, largely secularized Catholic colleges? A few
or even decades, to reach completion. examples:
• Instead of graduating students with
no substantial exposure to the Catholic intel-
Distinctively Catholic lectual tradition, the colleges in The Newman
Guide generally have a strong core curricu-
In the meantime, one of the most exciting
lum or several requirements to study faithful
developments in the Church today is the es-