Posted on 05/01/2014 7:42:56 AM PDT by cleghornboy
Too many Catholic universities are party schools and sports schools - Boston College, Notre Dame, Villanova, Seton Hall. Then there are smaller ones run by radical nuns.
Parents and students who really want a Catholic education would do better in most cases to save their money and go to a public university with a serious Catholic students organization.
It is comma-free; but common sense implies that it is for people who support tradition, family and private ownership of property -- all things the socialists want to destroy.
Yes, it is "bait-and-switch." Yes, it is consumer fraud. Yes, it is an offensive stench in the nostrils of Almighty God.
As for my family, we hadn't the money to put our sons in one of the "really" Catholic institution of higher learning --- the dozen or so little colleges which are, shall we say, confessionally Catholic --- and certainly would not consider one of the big, endowed apostate Universities like ND. From the viewpoint of the Faith, it would be much better to go to a State University. There, at least, you're not left mired in corrupting ambiguity. You know where your allies are, and where your enemies.
I am also troubled by Sunday's installation to sainthood of the Bishop of Rome who allowed the sex scandals to flourish under his nose. So I'm checking out of my "hopeful" phase over Pope Francis now, and will be content to be a lapsed CathoProt for the rest of my life. The only thing I can hope for now is an individual congregation somewhere that has not yet given up the race. I'm as done with Big Religion as I am with Big Government and Big Business.
I see it this way: Karol Wojtyla's deep background was with the Polish Church in resistance during the Nazi and Communist eras. In both eras, the State was continually trying to destroy the Church's moral authority by multiplying scurrilous rumors, false charges, and bogus prosecutions against clergy (they did this A LOT). Many of the Polish priests and bishops in JP's formative years were indisputably heroic. That's the vision embedded in him: that of the heroic priesthood.
Later on, he was reflexively and strongly skeptical of moral accusations against prominent priests, especially originating in places were the Church was under attack. He trusted "holy priests." He didn't trust the prosecutors or the press.
This was a serious, serious error. It's particularly sickening in, for instance, the case of Fr. Marcial Maciel, where the pervy-priest was a founder of a religious order that was (ostensibly) very vigorous, very orthodox, very rich in vocations and in the spread of the Gospel. All that "virtue," plus Maciel was a sociopath (overworked word, I know) --- a guy who was devilishly adept at living a double life while appearing astute, humble, holy: a master manipulator, a charmer and deceiver, as so many of the sex offenders are.
A person isn't canonized for having no blind spots, no weaknesses, or even for being a good administrator or a charismatic personality. He's canonized in recognition of heroic virtue which makes him an example to the faithful. I think Pope John Paul had that virtue, which we do well to study and imitate.
But you can go to hell by imitating the faults of the saints.
Arguing against same sex marriage is now considered equivalent to using the N word, no its worse.
Free speech as long as it agrees with them.
As usual, a most astute post. I will take your words to heart and continue thinking about these issues. Thank you, Mrs. Don-o.
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