How catholic is creighton university?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Janks
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
J

Janks

Guest
I’m trying to make my final decisions about colleges right now, and I’ve heard mixed reviews about Creighton. What I want to know is, how catholic is the university? Is it one of those catholic-in-name only school or is a true catholic school? I’d like to know since if it’s not, I’ll just stick with unl since the price tag is cheaper.
 
I went there for my undergraduate, and it’s a mixed bag. Some teachers really bring a Catholic perspective to things, some DEFINITELY not. The Masses at St John’s are very…seventies-era, but Omaha has good solid parishes, so you’re not stuck with them. And they let the older priests hear confessions everyday, and that’s great. What department are you looking into? I might be able to give more specifics.
 
I’m stuck between a theology major or an english major. I probably won’t be able to decide until I take some classes. 🤷
 
I’ve looked at the guide but trying to go to college more than a state away would be more of a strain on my financial situation, so i’m really stuck between UNL and Creighton. If Creighton isn’t a true catholic school, I’ll go to unl where my debt would be substantially less.
 
I really don’t know what to tell you: both the Theology and English departments had a mix of good Catholic teachers and some real nuts, I had classes with both. At the same time, the campus life was great, and my major departments (Classics and Biology) were spectacular. I don’t regret going, but your experience might be different. They used to have a lot of scholarships available, you might call admissions and ask what’s available for you.
 
Hi Janks,

I’m a current student at Creighton University and was very excited to see your post. I am in my fourth year of studies at Creighton and will be here for another two years finishing up my PharmD/BSHS degree. I can honestly say over the course of the last four years I have seen the “catholicity” of Creighton climb exponentially. Anna Jane is right, though, about professors and the Church. However, there are plenty of parishes close by that you can always attend if you don’t feel St. John’s is right for you (I attend St. Margaret Mary’s), and there are some really solid Catholic professors here too.

When I cam to Creighton a few years ago, I had a hard time finding good solid Catholic friends and really struggled for a while to find my place. However, God blessed my class and the class below me with some wonderful leaders and the promotion of traditional Catholic ideals has grown significantly since then. At this point, we have many Catholic student organizations on campus and many new students come in and find friends fairly quickly after school starts. Our most traditional Catholic groups include Rosary Club, Students for Life, St. Peter Canisius Society, Adoration, Knights of Columbus, and there’s even a Catholic women’s group that’s just getting started.

At the beginning of the school year too we have a special time called “Roman Week” (spoof on Greek Week) where each Catholic organization has a night of fun activities planned and it is a great way to meet like-minded students. This past year for Roman Week we had a barbecue, Catholic Jeopardy, Capture the Rosary (i.e. Capture the Flag), and many other fun events.

It has been great to see how much growth we have had over just a few years and I am excited to see what’ll happen next.

Remember, no school is perfect, but improvement is a good thing to see. Creighton is definitely making small steps towards becoming more “traditional-Catholic” at least in the student popualation.

If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact me (or just keep writing on this thread so others can see). I’ll do my best to tell it like it is here.

Good luck on your college decision!
 
We are seriously considering CU for our son. He is going to be a senior in high school this next year and would be a premed major if he went to CU. It is a Jesuit school and I guess that should be a good thing but we all know the Jesuits have had a pretty mixed up record in recent decades. I am perhaps being more kind to the Jesuits than they deserve.

We are very encouraged by what Bellringer said but still have misgivings. Rather than a hypocritical CINO school, we would rather he went to an unabashedly secular school so he would know where he stands. He is a brilliant student and a very orthodox Catholic. Any more information and “boots on the ground” experiences with CU would be helpful to us.

Thanks in advance!!
 
I think one other thing about UNL is that I believe they still do have a good FOCUS program going on there.
 
Jman – I don’t understand to what you are referring. What is UNL and FOCUS and what do they have to do with Creighton University? Sorry for being dense.
 
My daughter graduated from there last spring and says the same thing Bellringer06 does. She had a philosophy/theology prof that was a woman Methodist minister which I found outrageous. But overall the student body is coming into a more ‘Catholic’ feel according to my daughter as well.
 
CNormal said:
Jman – I don’t understand to what you are referring. What is UNL and FOCUS and what do they have to do with Creighton University? Sorry for being dense.
Click to expand...
Oh maybe they don’t have that actual program anymore, but they do have a rather strong Newman Center there. One is not going to have the same amount of things open especially with respect to theology when it comes to UNL, but it does have a good solid community on campus there. Oh UNL is the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Being a resident of Nebraska, I’d avoid the debt. 🙂
 
If you are going to study theology, it should be Catholic theology. If there are dissenters and non-Catholics teaching courses that should be taught by Catholics, this will be a serious problem. Perhaps though you could screen out courses that are not taught by loyal Catholics. It is too bad that you do not have the money for a solid Catholic school, like the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Perhaps though you could check with such schoosl to see what financial aid they have.
Campus life is important and whether there are good Catholic students and organizations there is important too, but after you have left after four years or so, what you have been taught is what is important for a lifetime career.
 
Some food for thought - especially referencing the mandatum:
Omaha, Neb., Archbishop Elden Curtiss told the Register that all 35 theology faculty at both Creighton University and the College of St. Mary in Omaha received the mandatum.

“I told the faculty that if they did not sign it, I would make that public,” he said. “Thanks to the role of former theology chair Father Richard Hauser I didn’t have a fight with the faculty.”

Archbishop Curtiss noted that even the non-Catholic theologians, who are not required to apply for the mandatum, expressed their respect for the teachings of the Church.

(taken from catholiceducation.org/articles/education/ed0192.html)

It is interesting that if you are really making your faith a part of your decision, that your other choice is a public university. Given there are numerous Jesuits on Creighton’s campus, and you see their mission and values every where on campus - Cura Personalis, AMDG, etc - as well as the entire Theology department signing on the mandatum, it should provide quite a bit of insight. However, if price is your priority consideration, why is there not a community college track on your list as that would be the most cost effective. Enjoy your search - may it be a blessed one.
 
I can’t tell you much about Creighton, but I can tell you that UNL has an absolutely amazing Catholic environment. The Newman Center is very engaged, and has two of the best priests out there. The community of Lincoln is also a great place to be. Although the UNL campus itself is fairly liberal, the city itself is an amazing place for Catholics. (I live there, and am a recent graduate of UNL)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top