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Why Catholic? Because True. Home
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to the Magisterium Ubi
Petrus, Ibi Ecclesia Write
to Marty
Why Catholic? Because True.
Catholic parents seeking to evaluate a Catholic school or college are hiring an institution to provide a service: the formation of their child.
Catholic Hire Education: The Cardinal Newman Society maintains excellent information on Choosing a Catholic College. These are colleges we can trust to give our young people a Catholic formation.
Preparation for heaven is the mission of a Catholic life. We measure everything we do, every moment of our lives, by how it supports our effort to prepare for heaven. When we eat a meal, we should be thinking about how it fits into our preparation for heaven; it should be healthful and provide good and loving companionship. When we take a shower, we should reflect at least momentarily on our baptism. God is clear: Dt 6:5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart. And you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
In First Things (April 2007, p. 32) we read that in Harvard Yard one can still see the university’s original seal, with the word Veritas surrounded by the words Pro Christo et Ecclesia. “Truth,” surrounded by “For Christ and Church.” Yes, that Harvard University. One hundred years ago that motto was reduced to only Veritas. Truth.
That must have been an interesting moment for the Harvard Board. After all, Christo and Ecclesia are absolute truth. Did someone present at that meeting raise the question, “If we are no longer for Christ and Church, then what truth are we for?” And did someone else reply, “It depends.”?
“Academic freedom” is intrinsically relativist. It holds that all ideas are equal because there is no objective truth. Relativism is academic fraud. It is interesting that the claims for relativism are nearly always asserted in absolutist terms. A real relativist would say, “In my opinion there is no absolute truth. But, of course, it is possible that absolute truth has objective existence.” But our academic relativists say something like, “It is absolutely true that there is no such thing as objective truth.” That is why all those thousands of professors “seeking truth” never actually find it. They aren’t seeking truth, but rather seeking high salaries and comfortable lives.
But the damage relativist institutions do is much greater than mere academic fraud. God is objective truth. Catholic teaching is absolutist; it holds that objective truth exists and is revealed by Jesus Christ through the Church.An institution that cannot see objective truth cannot see God.
During the last half of this century two trends converged.
• First, the secular universities claimed that academic freedom provides an open field for the pursuit of truth, and charged that Catholic universities were not full members of the academic community because they accepted limits on the range of their inquiry. If an institution already knows the absolute truth it has no need to enter the fields of error, but many Catholic institutions wanted acceptance by the academic community more than they wanted to be Catholic. Many continued to call themselves Catholic to attract students from Catholic families but taught relativism in the classroom.
The comparison of Catholic range of inquiry with secular institutions’ academic freedom was risible. Marxist professors do not preside over discussions open to the possibility that Marxism has produced disaster everywhere. Women’s studies professors do not preside over discussions open to the possibility that the traditional family with husband as breadwinner and wife staying home to raise the children is the best possible social arrangement. Multiculturalist professors do not preside over discussions open to the possibility that western civilization is absolutely superior to any other.
The secular colleges and universities also insisted that academic freedom can flourish only in autonomy. The university, they said, cannot accept any outside authority over its actions. This, from colleges and universities that did whatever was necessary to satisfy federal, state and local laws governing higher education, the requirements of boards of trustees or regents, accrediting agencies, scholarly, scientific, professional, athletic and alumni associations and societies, foundations and other funding sources, and organized groups of radical feminists, homosexuals, and environmentalists. In effect, it was okay to accept external authority as long as it was not Catholic.
• Second, the federal government began pouring a lot of money into universities. The Catholic universities began to see that the Supreme Court, and isn’t that an interesting name for a secular institution, moved decisively in the direction that no government funds could go to religious institutions. Jesus had said, Mt 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
Most of these universities quickly chose mammon. They took the crucifixes off their classroom walls, changed their curricula, and began to describe themselves as “in the Catholic tradition,” which reminds me of the “kosher style” restaurants in the liberal Jewish neighborhoods. All atmosphere, no authority.
This discussion includes both colleges and universities. The difference between them is that a college provides undergraduate education. A university provides an undergraduate education, but also has graduate and professional schools and research facilities.
Colleges are designed to appear impressive, with lots of academic trappings. Catholic parents need not be impressed by pomp. The college is trying to sell its customers, Catholic parents, an expensive service. The officers in any Catholic college are there to serve. Parents should ask as many questions about the college as they would about a house they are thinking of buying.
A Catholic college, at minimum, is one whose bishop certifies it as a Catholic college. Pope John Paul II’s Ex Corde Ecclesiae rules that only colleges certified as Catholic by their local bishop may use the word Catholic. Of course, that provision is not enforced by United States civil law, so as a practical matter such colleges sometimes call themselves Catholic anyway. Many colleges that have never been certified, or that have been de-certified, but still wish to pretend that they are Catholic, often use phrases like in the Catholic tradition or in the Jesuit tradition. Parents considering a Catholic college should, before visiting, contact the diocese in which the college is located and ask for a copy of the bishop’s certification. Parents should also ask the local diocese whether it has a current signed mandatum from each of the institution’s theology professors. College officials should be glad to provide the name, address, phone number, e-mail, and web site of their local diocese. Any hesitation, or any comment that the school is academically independent of the diocese, is a red flag.
Our highest and first criterion for selecting a college or university is that it fits into our preparation for heaven, so parents should visit the college before allowing their children to attend. A crucifix in every classroom is expected. Separate dorm buildings for men and women are expected. If crucifixes and separate dorms are not present, neither should our children be present. If the college passes all these tests, parents should look to see whether contraceptives are openly available anywhere in the school, for example in the rest rooms. Properly formed Catholic students are kept busy with the Apostolic Fathers and with healthy sports. Signs of unchaste behavior are clear evidence that the school is not delivering the Catholic formation for which its current customers are writing five-figure checks.
During the visit trip, parents should also visit the local police department and ask about its experience with this particular college or university and its students. Local police or county sheriffs know things about the college that it does not put in its publicity materials. Local pharmacists also know a lot that parents need to know.
The Codex Iuris Canonicis (Code of Canon Law), 1983 edition, Canon 812, states: “Those who teach theological subjects in any institute of higher studies must have a mandate from the competent ecclesiastical authority.” Pope John Paul II published Ex Corde Ecclesiae on August 15, 1990, his apostolic constitution on the Catholic university. Article 4 § 1 states: “In ways appropriate to the different academic disciplines, all Catholic teachers are to be faithful to, and all other teachers are to respect, Catholic doctrine and morals in their research and teaching. In particular, Catholic theologians, aware that they fulfil a mandate received from the Church, are to be faithful to the Magisterium of the Church as the authentic interpreter of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.”
Catholic theologians, and others who teach the doctrines of the Faith in Catholic institutions of higher education, are required to obtain the mandate described in Canon 812, in effect a license to teach, from their local bishop. It is often called by its Latin name, a mandatum.
The arrangement should work something like this: At the beginning of each academic year, the Catholic theologian signs the Oath of Fidelity and sends it to the bishop. The bishop then issues a mandate to the theologian. If it should come to the bishop’s attention that a Catholic theologian who has received a mandate has been teaching doctrines different from those of the Magisterium, the bishop investigates the matter, discussing it with the university president, and efforts are made to correct the situation. If the theologian remains obstinate, the bishop withdraws his mandate and the university in response removes him from teaching duties.
True Catholics, who hold that the Pope is the Vicar of Christ, send their children only to schools that firmly and forthrightly proclaim their fidelity to Catholic principles of education as the Vicar of Christ articulates them. Several Catholic institutions are faithful to the Magisterium and to Ex Corde Ecclesiae. Second Exodus suggests that families interested in a solidly Catholic education for their children look closely at these schools to see whether they would provide the education that their children seek.
Since Vatican II, we have seen a renewal in Catholic higher education. Most of the pre-Vatican II schools were established by dioceses or religious orders. Most of the post-Vatican II schools have ben established by lay organizations or individuals. I strongly recommend that devoutly Catholic parents or teens get a copy of The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College. It has much greater resources for evaluating Catholic institutions than I do. Father Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R., says : “Colleges listed in The Newman Guide are genuinely Catholic, with an indication of those that are most loyal to the Catholic tradition. The colleges and universities mentioned vary considerably, but they have in common a serious attempt to teach the Catholic faith in an orthodox manner and to preserve a campus atmosphere that encourages good Christian life.”
The National Catholic Register’s September 23, 2007 edition carried its own Catholic collegiate guide. My recommendation is to put the greatest emphasis on The Newman Guide’s recommendations, since they are based on actual evaluations, as opposed to the National Catholic Register’s guide which is based on the colleges’ answers to a survey. But the National Catholic Register guide is certainly worth a place in any family’s evaluation process. These are the colleges and universities evaluated by the National Catholic Register:
I recommend that parents and teens look at each of these college and university web sites to see whether any of them have something of particular interest that may not be mentioned in the evaluations.
When Catholic parents and teens narrow down the list of Catholic colleges and universities to a “short list” of two or three top candidates, I recommend that they ask each institution’s Director of Admissions some very specific questions about the Catholic character of his institution. These questions, suggested by Christendom College in its advertisement in the National Catholic Register September 23, 2007 guide, would be appropriate:
• Is your college/university accredited? Are your alumni accepted to graduate school?
• What percentage of your students are Catholic?
• How many of your teachers, other than Theology teachers, are Catholic? Do they teach their subjects with a Catholic worldview?
• Are there anytypes of rules or regulations governing how students dress? Is there a modesty dress code?
• Is alcohol allowed to be consumed in dorm rooms and elsewhere on campus?
• Are students allowed to go into the dormitories or rooms of members of the opposite sex?
• Do students have access to the Internet and to television/movies in the privacy of their dorm rooms? Are there any restrictions on what they watch or what they view online?
• Are the sacraments easily accessible, especially Daily Mass and Confession? Is there daily Eucharistic Adoration?
• What types of liturgies are offered? Charismatic? Contemporary? Traditional? Latin? Incense, patens, altar boys? Gregorian chant?
• Is Catholic culture taught, lived, and loved?
• Is there a core curriculum of courses, with an emphasis on Catholic theology, philosophy, and history?
• Do the faculty and administration care about their students as individuals? Do they encourage the students to grow in holiness and virtue?
What if we want to be a medical doctor? As far as I know, no Catholic medical school today is faithful to the Magisterium. But we can go to a faithful undergraduate institution. While there we can ask our professors for intensive training in Catholic bioethics. Then, when we get to medical school we can concentrate on learning about the human body, applying what we already know about the human soul to assure that we are practicing truly Catholic medicine. No prescribing contraceptives, no abortion referrals, etc.
What if we simply want to get a diploma so we can build some sort of career, marry our sweetheart, and raise a family? The local community college has much lower tuition rates, and we can live at home. Jesus told us, Mt 6:31 “Therefore do not be anxious, saying ‘What shall we eat,’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘’What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.” Go for the true Catholic education! Check with each faithful Catholic institution’s office of financial assistance and follow up every lead for tuition assistance. Jesus will not accept “lukewarm” Catholics. Rev 3:16 “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth.”
For serious Catholics interested in law school, there is Ave Maria School of Law. It is committed to Ex Corde Ecclesiae.
Some prospective law students may wonder what a Catholic law school would teach, as opposed to a secular law school. In Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965, a majority of the Supreme Court Justices claimed to find a right to privacy in “emanations” from “penumbras” of the First Amendment. In Roe v. Wade, 1973, a majority of the Supreme Court Justices claimed that this right to privacy was so important that it struck down laws in all fifty states to declare abortion legal. Anyone who thinks the United States government respects a right to privacy has obviously never filled out his own income tax return, had his child forced to take school psychological tests that ask extremely invasive questions, or filled out the long census form. A Catholic law school teaches respect for objective moral principles and for the Constitution’s plain language. In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 1992, a majority of the Supreme Court Justices embraced the bizarre notion that each of us has a constitutional right to make up his own moral universe. A Catholic view of the law recognizes that objective moral principles exist and that the law may properly support them.
Catholics interested in serious Catholic scholarship are invited to join the excellent Fellowship of Catholic Scholars.
For those who prefer to study at home, Father Hardon’s Catholic Home Study Courses are the best around.
Catholic schools, home schooling parents, and all Catholics interested in a wide variety of excellent teaching and other information resources really should visit the Catholic Educator’s Resource Center. It reprints articles from faithful Catholic magazines on a wide variety of subjects, and organizes them so all articles in a given subject area are easy to find. A winner.
In my opinion, Catholic students are exposed to more spiritual danger at a false Catholic college than at a secular institution. At least at a secular institution the student knows he is in spiritually hostile territory and has his guard up. But a false Catholic college can erase a student’s true Catholic formation and replace it with a false sense of what it means to be a Catholic, a sulphur-tipped arrow aimed at his immortal soul.
Sometimes a family evaluating colleges will conclude that a false Catholic college has the best tuition assistance program, or offers a highly regarded major in the student’s field of interest, or is near beloved family members, and place a higher value on these secular considerations than on spiritual formation. At such times, at all times, Catholic families should reflect on Christ’s words, spoken immediately after He called Peter a Satan for making a similar suggestion, and added,
Mt 16:24 “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life? For the Son of man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay every man for what he has done.”
Copyright © 1999-2010 Martin K Barrack. All rights reserved.