The Death Of Catholic Universities In America

The Federalist ^ | 3/26/15 | Dominic Lynch

[marshmallow]

Catholic universities in America have lost sight of their institutional identities. Only direct intervention from the Vatican can reverse their decline.

Catholic universities in America are typically regarded as offering a well-rounded education combined with one of the premier intellectual forces of the West: the Catholic Church, and its vast well of knowledge in almost every discipline. Unlike state-sponsored institutions, which can offer a quality education, Catholic universities have the advantage of a grounded and time-tested moral foundation.

This foundation, and the discoveries, advances, and progress it has produced, is unrivaled in any other Western tradition. Secular universities, good though they may be, lack the basic direction Catholic universities receive by their nature. As a result, secular universities are more prone to moral decay and moral bankruptcy than religiously affiliated institutions. Daniel Payne addressed recently in his article, “From Fake Rapes To Petty ‘Microaggressions,’ American Colleges Have Lost Their Way.”

Despite the moral bedrock that Catholic universities are founded upon, Catholic-American institutions of higher education have lost sight of their institutional identities. At this point, only direct intervention from the Vatican can reverse their decline and death.

Catholic Universities Sponsor Anti-Catholic Activities

Catholic universities regularly engage in or sanction activity that obviously contradicts their mission as an arm of the church, yet defend it with doublespeak about free speech and a heavy dose of cognitive dissonance, saying that permitting an activity or group on campus does not equal endorsement. But actions belie statements, and Catholic universities continue to be caught betraying themselves.

[Arm_Bears]

Only direct intervention from the Vatican can reverse their decline.

Hell--The Leftist Pope is probably cheering the decline.

[Don Corleone]

One only need look at the actions of Georgetown and Notre Dame to verify that assertion.

[Biggirl]

Once he reaches 80, he will step down then.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Look at the history. It was pretty much lost in 1967, when the most prominent Catholic colleges and univesities in the USA signed onto the "Land o'Lakes Declaration" in which they announced their autonomy and independence from Churh guidance. Belatedly, Pope St. John Paul II issued Ex Corde Ecclesiae ("From the Heart of the Church" LINK) in 1990 to try to reassert the Catholic identity of at least the theology departments (!) but left the enforcement to the local bishops, who have done virtually nothing about it.

At this late date, it's hard to think of any good resolution that doesn't involve a neutron bomb followed by room-by-room exorcism.