Any Catholic colleges lose that designation?

[commenter]

There are many Catholic colleges that went through a long period of lessening Catholic influence. In my diocese, 2 finally disappeared from the list of Catholic institutions in the diocesan directory. In one archdiocese, 2 colleges responding to complaints from the Cardinal Newman Society mentioned that they are no longer Catholic. (Only then were they dropped from the archdiocesan directory!). There have been other institutions criticized for not living up to their Catholic identity, but they still identify as Catholic, and still listed as Catholic in some way. Often they use ambiguous language such as “our Catholic heritage” or “Jesuit or Franciscan tradition” which leaves open the question of whether they are Catholic in the present.

How would the average Catholic student, parent, donor, know that a college is no longer Catholic at all, not even pretending to be? If an institution had been publicly identified as Catholic by the institution itself, the media, even by the diocese for many years, it seems the diocese has an obligation to specifically - publicly - clarify the new situation.

Are there any institutions that continue to assert they are currently Catholic colleges, but have specifically been determined by their bishop to be no longer Catholic?

 

[Joe_5859]

To be sure, Catholic identity at Catholic colleges is a huge problem and one that the bishops are well aware of. I wouldn’t read too much into whether or not they are still listed in the diocesan directory. Once the bridge is burned, there is no going back. I would imagine most bishops are woking to steer things back on course as best they can. Disavowing is really a last resort.

In looking at any college, it is important to do research and know what you’re getting into. Catholic idenitity is one component Catholic parents and prospective collegebound students need to consider.