Pope Readies a Challenge to Catholic Educators

The Sun ^ | March 7-9, 2008 | ELIZABETH GREEN

[NYer]

Pope Benedict XVI will use his trip to America next month to present Catholic educators with a powerful challenge, one whose effects could ripple from Notre Dame, Ind., to Tarrytown, N.Y., prominent Vatican watchers are predicting.

The expected message: Become more Catholic, or else.

In one of just a few major addresses planned for his six-day visit to America, Pope Benedict is scheduled to speak about education at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., before an audience that should include the president of every Catholic college and university in the country, plus representatives from every archdiocese, which oversee Catholic primary and secondary schools.

In what university officials said was the first convening of such a group in 29 years, the address will insert Pope Benedict into an ongoing debate in America regarding how Catholic colleges, universities, and even primary schools should assert their Catholic identities — even as Catholic enrollment declines.

Educators said the pontiff's service as a cardinal in the years before he was elected pope, in 2005, suggest he will enter the debate on the side of increasing so-called Catholicity.

The pope will encourage Catholic educators, but also emphasize the importance of "promoting and strengthening" their Catholic identities, Catholic University's president, David O'Connell, predicted.

[NYer]

"He is a true educator, so he has a passionate interest in education," Father Henry, who said he has regular conversations with Vatican officials, said of Pope Benedict. "He's looking at Western Europe, and he's looking at the United States, and he's not seeing a vibrant faith among the intelligentsia, among the elites of our culture. And I think he's probably going to attribute that to maybe Catholic universities needing to put more emphasis on their primary identity."

The president of the Cardinal Newman Society, Patrick Reilly, said Fordham University in New York, his alma mater, is one institution that he hopes will be forced to change by Pope Benedict's address, describing the university as a central offender in terms of violating its Catholic roots.

Fordham's director of communications, Bob Howe, described that charge as ridiculous, saying the university's relationship with Edward Cardinal Egan of the New York Archdiocese as strong and healthy. "There's no way that someone could look at Fordham and say that we are retreating from the Catholic identity," Mr. Howe said.

As for the pope's speech, Mr. Howe made just one prediction: "I don't think us being Catholic enough is the topic of the conversation. That may be what the Cardinal Newman Society would like it to be about. But I don't think they can say or anybody can say what it will be about yet."

If that is the messsage, it is an open question how much Pope Benedict will actually be able to change. Only Catholic University is controlled directly by the Vatican; other colleges have no such ties.

Mr. Reilly said a strong message could still have a powerful influence, affecting the kinds of Catholic universities parents and students choose to attend.

Mr. Maguire, however, said he expects little change.

"People will listen to him, and he'll go back home, and it won't make much difference," he said.

[wideawake]

he will enter the debate on the side of increasing so-called Catholicity

Even The Sun can't resist a little editorializing along with its "reportage."

[Straight Vermonter]

Woohoo!!! There could not be better news. Catholic schools and universities crank out atheists by the thousands.

[the invisib1e hand]

Thank God for the Church and the Pope.

[Salvation]

**Pope Benedict XVI will use his trip to America next month to present Catholic educators with a powerful challenge, one whose effects could ripple from Notre Dame, Ind., to Tarrytown, N.Y., prominent Vatican watchers are predicting.**

Hopefully Cardinal Mahony will also get the message.

[Salvation]

**Catholic schools and universities crank out atheists by the thousands.**

What about the Educator’s Conference in LA?

[wintertime]

Good for him!

I attended Villanova University. It was a hotbed of Liberation Theology in the early 70s.

[vladimir998]

Notice the dig here?

“...the address will insert Pope Benedict into an ongoing debate... [about how Catholic] schools should assert their Catholic identities — even as Catholic enrollment declines.”

Oh, I see. Catholic identity is chasing away students? No, not by a mile. Even if some students left over the Catholic identity, the students who do attend will provide a better and larger Catholic generation of students in the years to come.

[Straight Vermonter]

I dunno. What about it?

[biscuit jane]

I agree Vlad. Although I am no longer Catholic I think
the Catholic church needs to be more Catholic and conservative if they want to bolster their ranks. In fact I think the increasing numbers of Latin Mass attendees is a good indicator of the need for a more orthodox church and schools.

[A.A. Cunningham]

I predict that ex-priest Daniel Maguire will spend eternity on a dung heap.

[Straight Vermonter]

Correct. My wife attended an all girls “Catholic” college. Many of the parents sent their daughters there thinking it was an orthodox and safe place. In fact the students there were taught an evil twisted theology mixed with Marxism.

Ten years after my wife graduated, following plumetting enrollment, the school closed. Thanks be to God.

[Salvation]

A lot of liberal teaching and no real catechetics materials for Directors of Religious Education.

Also the liturgy is fraught with abuses.

[baa39]

Part II of the Come to Jesus meeting for the Jesuits.

[baa39]

Hey, you are right about that! It’s a travesty. And even more insidious because here were not talking about young adults in college, but children. It’s a huge leftist indoctrination conference that will send tens of thousands of DRE’s and education-related people from all over the world back to their home dioceses full of ignorance, heresy, and worse.

Did you know there is actually a formal organization that was created just to oppose this Mahony perversion fest? They try to counter-act the bad teaching by distributing authentic Catholic literature, taking out ads, informing parishes, etc.

[Salvation]

Yes, I came across it recently in an article linked on Spirit Daily. Fairly damaging article for the Educational Conference.

[baa39]

Oh, interesting! Is Spirit Daily a website?

[Salvation]

Yes, discernment needed on many articles.

http://www.spiritdaily.com/

[baa39]

Great, thank you. Have a nice night and don’t forget to “spring ahead”!

-B

[veritas2002]

I challenge everyone to name one TRULY Catholic college or university. I’ll start...Christendom in Front Royal VA. You’re next

[livius]

"People will listen to him, and he'll go back home, and it won't make much difference," he said.

Sheesh! I think we can see where one of the problems lies.

Tnere are some people who just need firing.

[NYer]

Franciscan University in Steubenville, OH.

[ELS]

Thomas Aquinas College, CA

[veritas2002]

That makes two

[veritas2002]

Three truly Catholic colleges named so far

[ichabod1]

Ave Maria University in Florida?

[annalex]

There is a hilarious, given the recent scandal news, mentioning of Eliot Spitzer in the article.

[veritas2002]

four...let’s remember now that 40 years ago there were hundreds of truly Catholic colleges and universities in the U.S.
four and counting

[Eternally-Optimistic]

Hopefully Cardinal Mahony will resign!!!!!!!!

[Mrs. Don-o]

You can call it Liberalism, but it would be more accurate, I think, to call it institutional corruption and consumer fraud.

The founders of the 235 Catholic colleges and Universities in the US wanted them to be Catholic, not --- did you notice the skeptical quote-marks in the article? --- "Catholic."

They gave these schools Catholic names, and built them on the $5 and $10 contrbutions of immigrants, mostly ---Irish domestic servants and Italian cops and Polish miners and Slovak nurses --- and the largesse of Catholic philanthropists --- all united in the intention of building flowing fonts of Catholic intellectual formation in America.

The betrayal of the founders, the donors, the people who set up the initial faculties, administrations and trust funds, amounts to a vast structure of institutional corruption --- embezzlement is not too strong a word. And the selling of second-rate secular course offerings to students looking for a Catholic education is nothing short of a bait-and-switch scam.

So call it "liberalism" if you want: but some of us are more inclined to go for words like "hustle," "swindle," "counterfeit," and "fraud."

[Straight Vermonter]

I think a diminution of the influence of priests and religious on campus has had a huge impact. It is difficult if not impossible for the bishops to discipline the leaders of these schools if they are lay people. This is assuming that the bishops even want to turn things around.

Despite a shortage of priests in our diocese our wonderful Bishop has decided to place priests in charge of the high schools again. Hopefully things will improve.

[Mrs. Don-o]

YOu've made a huge point. When the administration and the faculty of the school are laypeople, the Bishop is left with no canonical "carrots and sticks" (I almost regret that phrase, but how else to explain it?) and has to lead purely by the force of his teaching and example. Which is not a bad thing in the light of "not to lord it over them," but a whole lot more difficult.

Lay Catholics owe "holy obedience" to their bishops too, of course, but in this cultural milieu it would be seen by the laity as usurpation and arrogance, even IF the bishop were solidly in the right and the layperson twisted as sin.