Are Catholic Colleges Really Catholic?

I agree, the results are disturbing. I would like to see a study that samples only students from “orthodox” Catholic colleges – FUS, Thomas Aquinas College, Christendom College, etc. – to see if the students there have formed different opinions than students at, say, Notre Dame or Fordham. Only then will we know if sending our children to quality Catholic colleges is really worth the high price tag.

I suspect that you would see a major difference between the two types of colleges. If you want to know where the distinction comes from, you should run the same survey in Catholic high schools. I agree with Scott that the quality of regular education in Catholic high schools is much higher; however, the secular attitude has crept into all too many parochial schools as well. It’s not that they’re teaching secularism; it’s that they’re not teaching enough traditional Catholicism.

I graduated from Rosary College (now Dominican University) in River Forest, IL.
It was overrun with wildly liberal nuns/professors. One is an outspoken proponent of female priests and attends “priestess” liturgies in California.
Incidentally, their motherhouse in Sinsinawa, WI has had signs posted around the property for many years indicating that it is a nuclear-free zone. Never knew that Dominican motherhouses were in danger of nuclear attack.
Too weird. I wouldn’t send my pet to Dominican University even if it won a full scholarship.

I was a homeless,crack addicted, homeless, theif,catholic-born agnostic,59 yr. old loser when my Lord and savior Jesus Christ heard my pleas for help to change my life.Today,I am a full time junior college student, working on my B.A., after having dropped out of school in the ninth grade, forty-four years ago.He is real and he does hear our prayers!
I am at a Protestant college because the Catholic college in Austin would not accept a former convicted felon who had become a homeless person and a minor thief, although my essay and thesis along with my transfer grades were accepted.
My Protestant studies have led me back to the Catholic Church and the Catholic faith, the foundation of the Christian Church.
I can see the Catholic colleges going where the Protestant-founded colleges,(Harvard, Yale, Oxford) have already been. As we begin to reach for the fruit of the tree of knowlege, we belive that we can be as God, We don’t need God, we are as gods ourselves.
I have looked into the Catholic college curricullum, and I find only religious studies, as opposed to Christian, or Catholic studies. In a private school, to teach what is opposd to how we actually live is said to be discreminating, but all dicriminate against the Catholic teachings and certainly against Christian teachings here in this secular country in the name of equality.
All that we are called to do is to pray for our Church, ourselves, and for each other. Afterall, we did not bring these schools into this life, we can do nothing. He knows what is happening and He will straighten it all out, I’m real sure of that!

I’m thinking that they may be losing their way in some cases. I know that a local Jesuit college in my area gave an award to a significant celebrity that was an avid abortion supporter. I’m not saying good can’t be recognized, but some line is needed and you can’t ignore one of the most important ideals of Catholicism.

I am so very happy to read your article. I have believed and know that the Catholic Church, Schools, Colleges and offices are more political than ever, and so afraid of the people they are suppose to minister to.
The Catholic Church in the United States is following Europe in the way the Catholic Church has come to be. It is so afraid to stand up for what is Catholic, that as a Catholic it makes angrier than ever. Lay people today run the Church and in some cases, the people are not Catholic. It does no go to complain, I have no money or political power to fight, as these places believe that the people working and being paid by the church are correct.
I believe in the comment that the person who stated, that more traditional Catholicism is needed to be taught in the schools, colleges and churches. Most of the Catholic Church staff are liberal from the priest, the nuns especially, and the staff. There is no way to go but down.. They the church needs to stop with all these committees and start leading the church. Do you see when the Bishops have a meeting; they carry with them their staff, which pays for this but the people. They need to come down to the little people and lead from there.
A very unhappy Catholic person. Do not say volunteer when a person like me is out numbered and as soon as they see you are unhappy, you are never again asked to help.

I am a graduate of Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire, a Benedictine institution which until recently was acclaimed as one of the most stridently Catholic colleges in the country. However, many alumni have voiced alarm at the fact that a growing number of faculty members at Saint Anselm are either non-Catholic or Catholic in name only. Several even use the terms BCE and ACE rather than BC and AD to denote historical time periods. In addition, coeducational residence halls have now surfaced on the campus, and there is talk of drastically reducing or even abolishing intervisitation hours between the sexes. The college has also lent its name to a variety of liberal causes and organizations, though it still (thankfully) refuses to confer honorary degrees upon known pro-abortion individuals. I can say all this very objectively, as I am a devout and practicing Greek Orthodox Christian who thoroughly appreciated and enjoyed my time at Saint Anselm (I proudly brandish my class ring), and would absolutely hate to see my alma mater lose any more of its Catholic mission.

I attended USD (Univerity of San Diego), about 30 years ago, and even then disliked the fact that it called itself and truly was, “Catholice but independent”. Some of my professors were nuns and priests, but many were liberal thinkers that taught in a vein that didn’t seem to mesh with my traditional upbringing. I transferred to UCBerkeley, better known as CAL, which was more liberal but that was to be expected as it didn’t call itself “Catholic”. Being firming founded in my faith, my Berkeley experience did nothing to change that and may have made it stronger. I do believe that it would be wise if Catholic colleges did remain true to Catholic principles. Maybe they don’t because they need funding by any sources that might contribute. I would be delighted to send my daughter to a Catholic college, but is the high price tag worth it when most don’t really teach and promote Catholic values? Please let me know if one exists that is truly Catholic in its teachings.

Why is it so important that a Catholic college be SO Catholic? Is your child going to be a nun or a priest? THEN it matters, otherwise a good education with religion and mass offered is all that is needed. You can’t hold a college responsible for the lifetime teachings a child learns at home.

For a college to be fully accredited and compete with big secular schools, many ideas and views have to be presented with lay leadership. Many Jesuit schools get slammed by conservative Catholics for having different views and faiths on campus… yet they hold mass routinely. If your faith is strong, it can bear exposure to different views and concepts. If you raise a child Catholic, he or she will hold true to the faith no matter where they go. You can’t blame a college if your child starts to challenege, test or even reject their faith. It is no accident that the most devout Catholic colleges rank very low academically in comparison to less affiliated schools; such schools cannot assure that each student remains conservative despite strict teachings and classes. You will find devout Catholic kids at a state school and wild kids at a conservative school. Many non-Catholic students attend these schools and learn the beauty of our faith. These students attend a Catholic school because of the high academic and moral standards and becasue they are welcome, not because they are forced to become Catholic. Would you close these schools down and futher insulate our faith in the name of orthodoxy??

One person here posted that a certain school awarded a scholar (judge) an award and this judge advocated abortion. Did that make the school un-Catholic? The award was for good judgement in law, not religion and in NY State, abortion is legal. You can be Catholic, believe abortion is wrong, but accept the law of the land as the majority rule (render onto Ceasar…). The very same school (a leading Jesuit university) that gave this award was also home to Cardinal Dulles, a leader in the Church, a powerful intellect who came from a Protestant family of power and influence to become one of the most important Catholic theologans is the US. I attended this school, went to mass at this school, was taught Judaic law by a rabbi along with Priests at this school, questioned my faith at this school and had my Catholic faith reinforced at this school. My daugher turned down an Ivy league opportunity to prefer my alma mater as it has a moral base, a religious presence in a secular world that is offered, but not compulsory. If she were to be a nun, then there are more coservative schools that are more alligned with the church’s teachings; perhaps a Jesuit school would not be the best choice. She wants to be a psychologist and serve the poor AND be with other students who go to mass, don’t do drugs, are safe and conservative but are also serious about their careers. Many Catholic colleges will offer that, yet are not considered as Catholic as some here would like. Any college that calls itself Catholic, offers Catholic theology and mass is Catholic, even if that college allows different views and beliefs to be heard.

I am very disturbed as to where Catholic colleges and universities are going. As early as fifty years ago, things were changing. I was a Catholic high school graduate and was dating a young man who was a student at our local Catholic college, St. John Fisher. He was at that time, espousing some very liberal ideas that I felt were very wrong when coming from a Catholic college. After reading some of the comments from the others, I see that it was just the beginning. If we cannot hire strong Catholic teachers’professors, perhaps it would be a good idea to close these “Catholic” institutions. Everyone has an opinion that Catholic schools should teach Catholic standards. When I read that over 50% of those polls believed abortion – the murder of innocent human beings – should be approved, I cried. When I worked in an operating room that did abortions, most of the nurses were willing to work in these rooms – until they saw small arms and legs being sucked out of the mother. They could no longer participate. Perhaps the world needs to view this hideous sight. Maybe the Catholic colleges should be the leaders in encouraging this!