Catholic College Scholarships Only For Latin Catholics?

[Thomas48]

So recently my nephew approached me and we were discussing his college plans together, he told me he had looked into many Catholic Universities in the area. They offer many scholarships just for being Catholic and to us it looked like a great deal because you would be getting so much off of college tuition. When looking further into the scholarship it specifically says (at least for those of us living in Houston) “In order to obtain following scholarships, you must be a member of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and show proper documentation”. Well since we are Knanaya Catholics and under the St. Thomas Syro Malabar Diocese of Chicago, none of the so called “Catholic Scholarships” apply to us…

I told my nephew to call his program director and to simply tell them of our situation and how we are Eastern Catholics under our own diocese and that we don’t have membership to any Latin Catholic Diocese. The directors reply was “I’ll see what I can do but I don’t think that your current state will comply with the scholarship policy”. I’m guessing she said “current state” because later on in the conversation it sounded like she expected us to join a Latin Catholic Diocese. I found this whole situation ridiculous, how can you call it a “Catholic” scholarship if its only for the Latin Catholics.

 

[edward_george]

It could be that it’s a scholarship funded by the Archdiocese for members of the Archdiocese. They fund it, they get to decide who it’s for. Would you say it’s ridiculous that you couldn’t get a scholarship from, say, the local American Legion chapter that was funded by them for the children or grandchildren of members, even though you had no connection to them? Are there not any scholarships from the Syro-Malabar Diocese or any organizations affiliated with them? I’m sorry you feel you’ve been treated unfairly, but generally when an organization funds a scholarship, they get to decide who is eligible for it. My parish’s own scholarship fund is only for members of the parish; would you say that’s unfair to anyone outside of the parish? I would hope not–it’s funded by collections from parishioners, and thus the parish council and pastor decide who’s eligible and who is ultimately awarded it.

-ACEGC

 

[Corki]

So recently my nephew approached me and we were discussing his college plans together, he told me he had looked into many Catholic Universities in the area. They offer many scholarships just for being Catholic and to us it looked like a great deal because you would be getting so much off of college tuition. When looking further into the scholarship it specifically says (at least for those of us living in Houston) “In order to obtain following scholarships, you must be a member of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and show proper documentation”. Well since we are Knanaya Catholics and under the St. Thomas Syro Malabar Diocese of Chicago, none of the so called “Catholic Scholarships” apply to us…

I told my nephew to call his program director and to simply tell them of our situation and how we are Eastern Catholics under our own diocese and that we don’t have membership to any Latin Catholic Diocese. The directors reply was “I’ll see what I can do but I don’t think that your current state will comply with the scholarship policy”. I’m guessing she said “current state” because later on in the conversation it sounded like she expected us to join a Latin Catholic Diocese. I found this whole situation ridiculous, how can you call it a “Catholic” scholarship if its only for the Latin Catholics.

I believe you are talking about UST. The “parish scholarship” does require applicants to be members of one of the parishes in the Archdiocese. But this is just one of many scholarships at UST. There is another Catholic scholarship that is open to all Catholic students and one that is for Catholics from parishes other than those in the diocese of Galveston-Houston. The point being that each scholarship has criteria but there are several that recognize Catholics other than Latin rite Catholics.

Some of the scholarships are set up so that only one of two options is applicable. I am guessing your nephew would not qualify for the Girl Scout scholarship either but may qualify for the Eagle Scout one. No one would be eligible for both.

 

[RPRPsych]

On a tangent, but still…

Why is exclusion deplorable when others do it, but justified when we do it?

Knanaya Catholics practice endogamy, which they probably borrowed from the Indian caste system.

For them to cry foul over what a Roman Catholic institute does (especially since it’s an entitlement, not a basic human right) is - as Donald Duck would say - very, very funny.

 

[EphelDuath]

I feel an argument oncoming…

 

[Thomas48]

It could be that it’s a scholarship funded by the Archdiocese for members of the Archdiocese. They fund it, they get to decide who it’s for. Would you say it’s ridiculous that you couldn’t get a scholarship from, say, the local American Legion chapter that was funded by them for the children or grandchildren of members, even though you had no connection to them? Are there not any scholarships from the Syro-Malabar Diocese or any organizations affiliated with them? I’m sorry you feel you’ve been treated unfairly, but generally when an organization funds a scholarship, they get to decide who is eligible for it. My parish’s own scholarship fund is only for members of the parish; would you say that’s unfair to anyone outside of the parish? I would hope not–it’s funded by collections from parishioners, and thus the parish council and pastor decide who’s eligible and who is ultimately awarded it.

-ACEGC

I believe you are talking about UST. The “parish scholarship” does require applicants to be members of one of the parishes in the Archdiocese. But this is just one of many scholarships at UST. There is another Catholic scholarship that is open to all Catholic students and one that is for Catholics from parishes other than those in the diocese of Galveston-Houston. The point being that each scholarship has criteria but there are several that recognize Catholics other than Latin rite Catholics.

Some of the scholarships are set up so that only one of two options is applicable. I am guessing your nephew would not qualify for the Girl Scout scholarship either but may qualify for the Eagle Scout one. No one would be eligible for both.

Thank you for the replies, I would rather not disclose the name of the school, I don’t want anyone to feel disrespected. The Syro Malabar Eparchy is still quite young, all of its ministries are still being structured. Functions such as college scholarship programs are most likely an idea of the future. Forgive me if I sounded rash in my earlier post, I just feel that if the school stated the scholarship as being a “Catholic” scholarship, than it should be for all Catholics. If it is only for Latin Catholics and those adhering to certain diocese’ than let it be but change the name of the scholarship because this schools scholarship page posted in big bright letters “Get a Scholarship for just being Catholic!”, which was of course not the case.

On a tangent, but still…

Why is exclusion deplorable when others do it, but justified when we do it?

Knanaya Catholics practice endogamy, which they probably borrowed from the Indian caste system.

For them to cry foul over what a Roman Catholic institute does (especially since it’s an entitlement, not a basic human right) is - as Donald Duck would say - very, very funny.

Now that was just disrespectful and an unneeded comment, as a fellow on this forum would say “there are more charitable ways to express your opinion”. It was quite unnecessary to denounce a churches history and culture, especially adding it onto this thread.

 

[edward_george]

Thank you for the replies, I would rather not disclose the name of the school, I don’t want anyone to feel disrespected. The Syro Malabar Eparchy is still quite young, all of its ministries are still being structured. Functions such as college scholarship programs are most likely an idea of the future. Forgive me if I sounded rash in my earlier post, I just feel that if the school stated the scholarship as being a “Catholic” scholarship, than it should be for all Catholics. If it is only for Latin Catholics and those adhering to certain diocese’ than let it be but change the name of the scholarship because this schools scholarship page posted in big bright letters “Get a Scholarship for just being Catholic!”, which was of course not the case.

Now that was just disrespectful and an unneeded comment, as a fellow on this forum would say “there are more charitable ways to express your opinion”. It was quite unnecessary to denounce a churches history and culture, especially adding it onto this thread.

I would say that in common parlance in the United States when someone refers to “Catholic,” the first thing that comes to mind for the vast majority of people is “Latin Catholic.” I have a great love of the Eastern Churches, but I can understand why they wouldn’t narrow it down a little more than they did than simply saying “Catholic.” In this country, in this culture, that’s the prevalent reality when it comes to the Church.

-ACEGC

 

[Corki]

Thank you for the replies, I would rather not disclose the name of the school, I don’t want anyone to feel disrespected. The Syro Malabar Eparchy is still quite young, all of its ministries are still being structured. Functions such as college scholarship programs are most likely an idea of the future. Forgive me if I sounded rash in my earlier post, I just feel that if the school stated the scholarship as being a “Catholic” scholarship, than it should be for all Catholics. If it is only for Latin Catholics and those adhering to certain diocese’ than let it be but change the name of the scholarship because this schools scholarship page posted in big bright letters “Get a Scholarship for just being Catholic!”, which was of course not the case.

.

You are the one that mentioned our archdiocese by name so it would be appropriate to respond to your accusation since there is only one Catholic university in the Archdiocese.

As I pointed out, there are scholarships for ALL Catholics; there are just different programs for those affiliated with parishes in the diocese and those who are not. It is not at all unclear on the website. It seems to me that you are disappointed that your nephew can’t somehow get it both ways and apply to** all **of the scholarships, something no Latin Catholic would be able to do at the school.

 

[babochka]

I would say that in common parlance in the United States when someone refers to “Catholic,” the first thing that comes to mind for the vast majority of people is “Latin Catholic.” I have a great love of the Eastern Churches, but I can understand why they wouldn’t narrow it down a little more than they did than simply saying “Catholic.” In this country, in this culture, that’s the prevalent reality when it comes to the Church.

-ACEGC

I think that “Catholic” must be understood in the universal sense. This scholarship was advertised as “just for being Catholic”, which was untrue. It is perfectly reasonable to offer it only to Catholics of a particular diocese, which would by definition exclude Eastern Cathoilcs, but if you say that it is a scholarship for being Catholic, it should include all Catholics. Clearly, this was not the case with this particular scholarship, though.

 

[Corki]

I think that “Catholic” must be understood in the universal sense. This scholarship was advertised as “just for being Catholic”, which was untrue. It is perfectly reasonable to offer it only to Catholics of a particular diocese, which would by definition exclude Eastern Cathoilcs, but if you say that it is a scholarship for being Catholic, it should include all Catholics. Clearly, this was not the case with this particular scholarship, though.

:banghead::banghead:

Nothing they said was untrue. They said “If you are Catholic and belong to a parish in the archdiocese, apply for Scholarship A” and “If you are Catholic and belong to a parish that is not part of the archdiocese, apply for Scholarship B”.

 

[RPRPsych]

Thank you for the replies, I would rather not disclose the name of the school, I don’t want anyone to feel disrespected. The Syro Malabar Eparchy is still quite young, all of its ministries are still being structured. Functions such as college scholarship programs are most likely an idea of the future. Forgive me if I sounded rash in my earlier post, I just feel that if the school stated the scholarship as being a “Catholic” scholarship, than it should be for all Catholics. If it is only for Latin Catholics and those adhering to certain diocese’ than let it be but change the name of the scholarship because this schools scholarship page posted in big bright letters “Get a Scholarship for just being Catholic!”, which was of course not the case.

For most lay readers, Catholic = Roman Catholic. I realize that this is unfair to Eastern Catholics, but it is true.

Now that was just disrespectful and an unneeded comment, as a fellow on this forum would say “there are more charitable ways to express your opinion”.

Ah, the age of political correctness, where even humour and sarcasm are considered “uncharitable”. If a reference to Donald Duck doesn’t get your kid-o-meter flashing, what will?

It was quite unnecessary to denounce a churches history and culture, especially adding it onto this thread.

What is unnecessary and disrespectful is the way this group often behaves towards other Catholics, or other fellow men. Perhaps being in the United States, you haven’t seen that side of the story. I’ve seen the score. History and culture are not Sacred Tradition. The only group that ever received a divine license for endogamy was the Israelites.

 

[Thomas48]

You are the one that mentioned our archdiocese by name so it would be appropriate to respond to your accusation since there is only one Catholic university in the Archdiocese.

As I pointed out, there are scholarships for ALL Catholics; there are just different programs for those affiliated with parishes in the diocese and those who are not. It is not at all unclear on the website. It seems to me that you are disappointed that your nephew can’t somehow get it both ways and apply to** all **of the scholarships, something no Latin Catholic would be able to do at the school.

My dear friend, I mean no offense if you perceived my post that way. The university my nephew had applied to was not University of St. Thomas, they did not offer his program. Notice in my first post I mentioned he applied to schools “in the area”, I mean local Texas Schools, not those out of state. Once again I mean no offense to any Latin Catholics or the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston which I am as much a member of as the Syro Malabar Diocese. Though I am not an official parishioner, I do from time to time attend Holy Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Richmond and St. Laurence Catholic Church, Sugar Land, on days I cannot make it to St. Mary’s Knanaya Church.

This certain school like I mentioned earlier, had numerous postings saying “Receive Scholarships Just For Being Catholic!”, but when looking in further is when you find out that the majority of these scholarships require one to have membership of the “recognized” Latin Catholic Diocese. This is all that I mean sounds “ridiculous” to me, if it is labeled as a “Catholic Scholarship”, like someone mentioned earlier, than that by definition means universal.

For most lay readers, Catholic = Roman Catholic. I realize that this is unfair to Eastern Catholics, but it is true.

Ah, the age of political correctness, where even humour and sarcasm are considered “uncharitable”. If a reference to Donald Duck doesn’t get your kid-o-meter flashing, what will?

What is unnecessary and disrespectful is the way this group often behaves towards other Catholics, or other fellow men. Perhaps being in the United States, you haven’t seen that side of the story. I’ve seen the score. History and culture are not Sacred Tradition. The only group that ever received a divine license for endogamy was the Israelites.

I was born and raised in India, one who is outside the culture of the Christian Groups in Kerala would not understand the relationship these groups have with each other. People see “Endogamists” and portray us to be the bad guys, tho blame goes to both groups in this argument. This is quite off topic for this thread, do pm me if you would like further insight.

 

[RPRPsych]

I was born and raised in India, one who is outside the culture of the Christian Groups in Kerala would not understand the relationship these groups have with each other. People see “Endogamists” and portray us to be the bad guys, tho blame goes to both groups in this argument. This is quite off topic for this thread, do pm me if you would like further insight.

A fair point. Apologies if I gave offense. I’ll get back to you on this.