Are Catholic universities losing their Catholic identity?

[stbruno]

laloyolan.com/opinion/lmu-s-distinctly-catholic-mission-1.1737627

This is a partial exerpt from a professor at Loyola Marymount University in LA who thinks its already in progress.

LMU’s distinctly Catholic mission?

Christopher Kaczor, Associate Professor of Philosophy

**Updated: **Thursday, April 30, 2009

What does the future of LMU hold in terms of its Catholic character? The “prima facie” case for total secularization is fairly simple. As everyone knows, virtually all private universities in the United States began with a strong religious affiliation, and many of all these universities are now fully secularized. The trend toward secularization is strong. Any strong force, unless resisted by an equally strong force, has its way.
Will LMU be an exception to this trend? Many people believe so, and I certainly hope so. However, I am seriously concerned. There are many facets that make up LMU’s Catholic identity, but let’s consider some ways in which LMU differs from other universities, in particular, its student body, faculty, core requirements, Jesuit President and symbolic ties. Each of these is in serious jeopardy of becoming merely like every other university.
Over the past ten years, the percentage of Catholic students at LMU has steadily decreased. During this time, Catholics have increased in absolute numbers and as a percentage of the population in California, where LMU draws the vast majority of its students. According to Melinda Roper, director of student life at Cal Lutheran University, Cal Lutheran now has a higher percentage of Catholic students than LMU. Predicted time to total secularity: ten years.
The percentage of Catholic faculty is plummeting even faster. Perhaps a majority of full professors at LMU are still Catholic, but my informal faculty survey indicates a very small minority of assistant or associate professors are Catholics. The exact numbers are not available since LMU (unlike, for instance, the University of Notre Dame) does not keep track of religious affiliation, despite meticulous record keeping about the race and gender of the faculty…Symbolic ties will probably be cut last. Already, the change in our University logo from a depiction of Sacred Heart Chapel to the current LMU|LA logo is not without significance (LaMULA). Our current logo contains, we are told, subtle religious symbolism, indeed so understated as to be completely unnoticeable to the untutored eye, a perfect symbol for the future of LMU. At some point, the crucifixes will come out of the classrooms. LMU’s mottos “ad majorem dei gloriam” and “tua luce dirige” will be deleted, or at least be modified (“ad majorem gloriam” and “luce dirige”?). There will come a time when Sacred Heart Chapel comes into greater conformity with wider University culture. The Eucharist will be permanently removed so that the space can be used for a variety of services and concerts. There will be an argument about whether the distinctively religious art should remain. A compromise will likely be struck whereby the pieces considered offensive – such as the central crucifix and the statue of Mary – are removed but the stained glass windows remain intact, a silent reminder of a long lost tradition.

 

[Scoobyshme]

I think that ship left the dock LONG ago. Many, if not most, of our “Catholic” colleges and universities are nothing more then private, secular institutions with the name “Catholic” tacked on for marketing purposes. This parallels the loss of faith by the majority of Catholics in the U.S. How do we know this? Well, when we see in polls that 70% of “Catholics” don’t attend weekly Mass or believe in the Real Presence, we have to conclude that they’ve lost their Catholic faith. When we read that the majority of Catholics in this country practice artificial birth control, in direct opposition to Humanae Vitae, we have to conclude that most Catholics in the U.S. have lost their Catholic faith.

Part of the problem is the incredibly poor catechesis in this country in the last 40 or so years. Many Catholics no longer practice their Catholic faith because they don’t know their Catholic faith. But they DO know what the world teaches and what’s politically correct. We can either follow Christ, through His Church, the Catholic Church. Or we can follow Satan through the world. About every 500 years, the Church goes through some sort of general theological battle. In the first 500 years, the Church had to battle the Christological heresies (Who is Christ?). In our time, we’re beginning a new age in which the challenge is, “Will you be secular? Will you be worldly?” And many, many of our “Catholic” brethren have fallen prey to this heresy.

We need to educate ourselves, and educate others. We cannot afford to sit on the sidelines (there are NO sidelines in life!) watching everything fall apart. We have to take action to help build Christ’s kingdom on earth, by building and strengthening His Mystical Body, the Church!

Scooby
alabamacatholicresources.com

 

[KathleenElsie]

How can we honestly expect our Universities to stay TRULY Catholic when there is no longer a TRUE Catholic identity shown in the Parish and Regional Schools that have taken the place of TRUE Catholic Education? The education of the past has been made to conform with modern society.

Catholic education is no longer based on the Faith it has now been based on SAT scores and social acceptance.

 

[elgar]

How can we honestly expect our Universities to stay TRULY Catholic when there is no longer a TRUE Catholic identity shown in the Parish and Regional Schools that have taken the place of TRUE Catholic Education? The education of the past has been made to conform with modern society.

Catholic education is no longer based on the Faith it has now been based on SAT scores and social acceptance.

One of our local “Catholic” colleges is inviting a typical “pro-choice Democrat” member of Congress as their Commencemnt speaker. He happens to not be Roman Catholic, so I guess the college president could always pull a Fr. Jenkins if challenged on this. I’ve heard no criticism from the Archbishop’s office and nothing from the laity. This kind of thing happens all the time around here. There might be protesting however if a Phyllis Schaffley kind of Catholic were ever to be invited. The problem is: there are so few “good” Catholics left, it is difficult to name one you know personally.

 

[OriginalJS]

Back in the dark ages of the early 1950’s, the Catholic schools I was familiar with were attended only by Catholic children, who were taught by priests, nuns or brothers - all religious. By the late 1960’s things were changing fast, and the change hasn’t stopped. Many teachers and administrators are no longer religious, but are well-meaning laypeople doing the best they can. Student bodies at many Catholic high schools include a large percentage of non-Catholics. Many shiny new Catholic high schools are really just expensive private schools, regardless of their names. Many non-Catholic parents send their children to Catholic schools because of the better discipline and, in some cases, small school setting. They are not sending them to Catholic schools to be taught religion.

On our Church bulletin board, a few times a year, are requests for lay people to volunteer to teach catechism classes. I applaud those who volunteer, mostly mothers who can squeeze in the time, but, excuse me, these fine lay people just don’t know that much. Yet, they are presented as authority figures to children of impressionable age.

So yes, in educational institutions I believe the “Catholic identity” is being lost.

 

[KathleenElsie]

One of our local “Catholic” colleges is inviting a typical “pro-choice Democrat” member of Congress as their Commencemnt speaker. He happens to not be Roman Catholic, so I guess the college president could always pull a Fr. Jenkins if challenged on this. I’ve heard no criticism from the Archbishop’s office and nothing from the laity. This kind of thing happens all the time around here. There might be protesting however if a Phyllis Schaffley kind of Catholic were ever to be invited. The problem is: there are so few “good” Catholics left, it is difficult to name one you know personally.

The majority of situations you hear about are those of the minority that are not truly Catholic in their behaviors. But, I do think you can find many many faithful Catholics if you look for us. We are the ones working quietly at the parish on things that need to be done and in the community at the food banks. We are standing beside you and yet we are the invisible ones.

I will pray that you find some of us and see who we are in your community. We do have some wonderful TRUE CATHOLIC schools or we homeschool using Traditional/Classic Catholic curriculum. Most of us, but not all, are easy to spot as we dress modestly in a world that see us as odd. Maybe we are the person that held the door at the store for you or spoke to you when you needed a kind word.

I pray that you are looking for us just as we are looking for you.

PAX