"The State of Catholic Higher Education" by Patrick Reilly

"The State of Catholic Higher Education" by Patrick Reilly, President of the Cardinal Newman Society.

From InsideCatholic:

The Notre Dame commencement scandal was of such crucial significance to the Church and the renewal of Catholic higher education that it dominated much of the summer. But as students complete their first full month of studies and my colleagues at the Cardinal Newman Society wrap up the second edition of our Catholic college guide, it's a relief to focus attention on the very best of Catholic higher education.

But the reality is that the crisis in Catholic higher education is far from over. Generally, but certainly not always, families seeking a Catholic education outside the colleges identified in The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College will discover a sad state of affairs.

Most Catholic colleges have secularized considerably over the past 40 years, such that anyone who attended these colleges in the 1960s or earlier would scarcely recognize them today. It is no surprise that more than half the colleges in The Newman Guide were established after 1970, most in reaction to the rapid decline of faithful Catholic education in this country.

The good news is that a nationwide renewal of Catholic higher education is underway, and scandals like the Notre Dame commencement honors have only helped mobilize support for significant reform. Not only are new, faithful Catholic colleges springing up -- bishops, religious orders, and lay leaders are planning to establish several more in the next decade -- but nearly every Catholic college in the United States has increased attention to its core mission. Families who are seeking a Catholic college should know about these trends. A basic understanding of the state of Catholic higher education today is valuable not only as a precaution, but also as confirmation of the great treasures we have in faithful Catholic colleges.

Notwithstanding the great strides the Church is making with regard to Catholic higher education, at many typical Catholic colleges students will find:

• a significant number of faculty who may appreciate theology, philosophy, and the arts as useful for presenting ideas and critiquing others' ideas, but who reject any claim to truth outside the natural sciences;

• a curriculum featuring a broad course selection with some required courses but no integrated core and little exposure to the Catholic intellectual tradition, unless the student majors in philosophy or theology and actively seeks appropriate courses;

• a religious studies or theology department including faculty who dissent from Catholic teaching and offering courses with no clear indication of whether they are genuine Catholic theology courses;

• a faculty with a significant portion (sometimes a large majority) of non-Catholics and non-practicing Catholics, often including actively homosexual and dissenting professors;

• guest lecturers, often with a decidedly liberal-progressive point of view, including pro-abortion politicians and others whose public actions and statements oppose Catholic moral teaching;

• a campus ministry that is generally weak and understaffed, minimizes catechesis and spiritual formation, and often plays loosely with Catholic teaching and the liturgy of the Mass -- which is attended by a minority of Catholic students;

• student clubs that oppose Catholic teaching, usually on abortion or homosexuality, and few (if any) that provide opportunities for spiritual growth;

• coed residence halls with some restrictions that are generally ineffective in discouraging premarital sexual activity and alcohol abuse; and

• campus health and counseling services that are under no obligation to support Catholic moral teaching.

This is a list of the more common concerns. There are more unusual and appalling problems, both at large universities and at small, seemingly traditional Catholic colleges. These include approved internships with abortion advocacy groups, homosexual film festivals, awards to gay-marriage advocates, lectures by embryonic stem cell researchers and pro-abortion activists, professors who publicly attack the Vatican and Catholic moral teachings, etc...Continued