Be Cautious When Choosing a Catholic College

The overwhelming majority of America’s colleges and universities have become advocates of indoctrinating their students into the culture’s degeneracy and ungodliness.  Unfortunately this includes most Catholic institutions as well.

Christian parents and their teen kids researching potential colleges quickly realize most modern secular universities have become godless wastelands. So they often turn next to consider Catholic higher education. But they need to be cautious and thoughtful. Enrolling an 18-year-old into a Catholic college will be a huge waste of money and a surprising disappointment for families who don’t carefully do their research.

That Catholic school parents and their high school junior or senior are considering for enrollment might simply be a lighter version of the less expensive, secular colleges. The primary difference being the Catholic institutions have a crucifix or two in some of their campus buildings. It is a sad reality that when comparing the secular and religiously-affiliated college, they equally attract and/or develop radical, live-and-let-live students. They also both employ faculty and administration with anti-Christian principles. 

The Pros and Cons of a Catholic University

It is true that attending a Catholic college or university can have many advantages. The Catholic Church has a long history of emphasizing scholarly excellence. Most Catholic colleges make meaningful volunteer opportunities part of the educational experience. They provide on-campus access to liturgies. Additionally, for students raised Catholic, it can feel more comfortable to attend a school where a large number of fellow students are of the same faith.

Unfortunately, most Catholic colleges and universities nowadays have lost their way. Catholic dioceses or religious orders founded these institutions so to impart Jesus’s truths and positively impact the upcoming generation of Catholics. But since then the institutions have brushed away these original objectives. It is now common to find Catholic colleges whose theology departments actually employ non-Catholics. Furthermore, a predominance of the faculty in other departments are either radically secular or lukewarm Christians who possess hostility to orthodox Catholicism. 

The Pope’s Alma Mater Is Just One Example

A good example of a Catholic-founded college which has strayed from its roots is Villanova University. Founded in 1842 by the Order of St. Augustine, Villanova originally was dedicated to its motto of “Veritas, Unitas, Caritas” – aka Truth, Unity, and Love. Its most famous graduate might be Robert Prevost, who earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1977.  He is more popularly known as Pope Leo XIV. 

Like many Catholic universities, Villanova once earned an excellent reputation for defending the Catholic faith and passing on the moral teachings of the Church to its students. But over the past 50+ years, there grew a deadly combination of the secular culture’s influence, the hiring of non-devout administrators and faculty, and the enrolling of many pagan-like students. Any positive, pious attributes from decades ago were smothered and replaced by negative, pagan elements.

For example, the Villanova community reacted in a non-Christian manner in 2022 upon hearing the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade case for abortion. Many professors and students on the Villanova campus did not applaud the decision as devout Catholics would. Instead they were sad or angry. They felt “frustration and disappointment in the face of this loss of a right to female bodily autonomy.”  They couldn’t care less about the fundamental Catholic doctrine regarding life. In fact, one Villanova professor, who teaches theology and religious studies no less, publicly promoted a solution would be to allow women to have unrestricted abortions in their first 90 days of pregnancy. 

Continuing using Villanova as one example of a non-Catholic, Catholic university, they celebrate having an “Office of Belonging and Inclusion” and associated “U Pride” organization. The university’s creation and promotion of this – and other woke items like so-called trans-inclusive restrooms, social events for “queers” (their word), and scholarships solely given to so-called LGBTQIA+ students – would be alarming if these were all an anomaly.  Sadly, the culture of the preponderance of American Catholic campuses are similar to Villanova and have likewise forgotten their Christian-founded purposes. 

There Are Scores of Similar, Pseudo-Catholic Colleges

The news is full of story after story about anti-Catholic, corrupt, and/or cowardly actions taken by administrators and faculty at supposedly “Catholic” colleges. Just a few of the hundreds of examples include:

• A student at Providence College was publicly singled out, targeted for vilification, physically threatened, forced to leave his dormitory room, attacked in the campus newspaper, and slimed by the administration. The reason? He displayed a poster in his dormitory that echoed the Church’s teachings on marriage.

• Holy Cross College changed the origin of its mascot, “Crusader,” from the Catholic tradition to now mean “crusaders for human rights, social justice, care for the environment, and respect for different perspectives, cultures, traditions, and identities.” The reason? The administration feared the moniker was upsetting Muslims.

• The University of San Diego blocked their College Republican Club from hosting a conservative speaker on campus whose talk was to reinforce the Catholic Church’s stance that there are only two genders. The reason? The university administration claimed his beliefs were “grossly offensive” and would create an “unsafe environment on campus for different populations of people.”

• Georgetown University holds an exclusive graduation ceremony called a “Lavender Graduation.” The reason? The administration panders to and celebrates their homosexual students.

• Fordham University excitedly chose a certain politician to be their recent commencement speaker and honorary degree recipient. The reason? He was championed in the secular culture for cosponsoring pro-abortion bills, including the “Abortion is Health Care Everywhere Act of 2020” which funded abortion in developing countries.

• Santa Clara University expects students in its therapy/counseling program to watch sexual bondage videos, discuss their masturbation practices, listen to so-called transgender guest speakers talk about what arouses them sexually, and affirm beliefs in so-called white privilege and gender-transitioning. 

Too Many Catholic Institutions Have Forgotten Their Origin Story

Christian parents helping their teenagers choose where they will go for their post-secondary education cannot assume that a university which has “Catholic” in its title or founding documents is indeed faithful. Catholic schools should have an objective of teaching the truth of the Gospel as it comes to us through the magisterium of the Catholic Church. But the odds are low that when searching to find a “Catholic” college in the 21^st century a parent and teenager will find one authentically Catholic in its mission, environment, and principles. One will more likely find at worst, an anti-Catholic or at best, a quasi-Catholic institution.

Biblical truths on life, marriage, sexuality, and other ethical norms are not taught or reinforced on most Catholic college campuses. Instead, these misguided, blasphemous, or heretical institutions of higher learning are encouraging their students to reject the Church’s truths. These are the same truths that the founders of their colleges actually championed decades or centuries ago. 

While the majority of Catholic colleges and universities have forgotten their true salvific mission, happily there are exceptions. A scattering of higher learning institutions in the United States continue during this modern, depraved era to courageously proclaim the Gospel in its fullness. They are the institutions which concur Catholic teachings will never change. They teach and uphold the dignity of the human person beginning at conception. They believe in the sacredness of marriage between one man and one woman. 

Resources to Help Parents Find the Best Colleges

The Cardinal Newman Society promotes and defends faithful Catholic education. Parents would be wise to refer to this organization to learn what are the best practices in Catholic schools and which schools are committed to these practices.

The Newman Society publishes their annual Newman Guide which serves as a source for identifying model Catholic colleges and vetting the pseudo-Catholic ones. The Newman Society investigates all aspects of Catholic colleges, from their academics to their athletics and from the faculty they hire to the campus life events they create.

Currently, the top model institutions that the Newman Guide applauds for refusing to compromise their Catholic mission are (in alphabetical order):

1. Aquinas College (Tennessee)
2. Ave Maria University (Florida)
3. Belmont Abbey College (North Carolina)
4. Benedictine College (Kansas)
5. Catholic University of America (Washington DC)
6. Christendom College (Virginia)
7. Franciscan University (Ohio)
8. Holy Apostles College (Connecticut)
9. John Paul the Great Catholic University (California)
10. Thomas Aquinas College (California and Massachusetts)
11. Thomas More College of Liberal Arts (New Hampshire)
12. University of Dallas (Texas)
13. University of Mary (North Dakota)
14. University of St. Thomas (Texas)
15. Walsh University (Ohio)
16. Wyoming Catholic College (Wyoming) 

It is quite evident that the colleges not listed in the Newman Guide are all the Jesuit-founded universities (e.g., Georgetown, Loyola, Boston College, Gonzaga, Santa Clara, Marquette) and other Catholic “power houses” (e.g., Notre Dame, Providence, DePaul, St. John’s). 

There are almost 250 Catholic colleges and universities in America. With the exception of the handful of Catholic colleges and universities given credence by the Newman Guide, it can be assumed that at least 200 Catholic higher education schools have strayed from their Catholic roots.

Even if one were to argue the Newman Guide is too restrictive in its ratings, and you consider they are only 50 percent trustworthy in their evaluations, that still would leave around 100 Catholic colleges that are CINOs – Catholic In Name Only.

This is why parents and students should be cautious and thoughtful when picking a college. They should start with the Newman Guide. In addition, they should refer to the Newman Society’s list of key elements of an authentic Catholic college when examining college websites and visiting campuses. These elements insist that a Catholic institution must:

1. Prioritize the souls of their students over every other consideration.
2. Create a community where faithful educators partner with parents to give witness to Gospel values.
3. Provide students with solid theology, prayer experiences, and exposure to Scripture and sacraments.
4. Form students to resist relativism, overcome individualism, and discover vocations.
5. Impart a Christian vision of the world, of life, of culture, and of history. 

Another great resource for parents searching for colleges for their children is the Congregation for Catholic Education’s document, “The Identity of a Catholic School for a Culture of Dialogue.” It provides guidelines on the value of a school’s Catholic identity and the criteria which makes a school truly Catholic. One criteria is a Catholic school must hire truly faithful Catholics who profess and witness to the Catholic faith. In addition, the document notes that a truly Catholic institution will intervene by correcting or even dismissing a teacher who fails to provide faithful formation to his/her students. 

It Is the Teacher Who Has the Most Impact

In his “Encyclical on Christian Education” written 100 years prior to the above document, Pope Pius XI said relatively the same thing when he explained that authentic Catholic schools must most importantly hire and nurture sound professors/teachers:

“Greater stress must be laid on the employment of apt and solid methods of teaching… Perfect schools are the result not so much of good methods as of good teachers, teachers who are thoroughly prepared and well-grounded in the matter they have to teach; who possess the intellectual and moral qualifications required by their important office; who cherish a pure and holy love for the youths confided to them, because they love Jesus Christ and His Church…; and who have therefore sincerely at heart the true good of family and country.”

Christian parents seeking a Catholic college for their children (or also seeking Catholic K-12 schools) should ask about the school’s percentage of practicing Catholic teachers. A school does not need to employ a 100 percent Catholic faculty to be considered faithfully Catholic. But every adult in the school building must be a herald of the Gospel and never defiant to the Catholic Church. These prerequisites for getting hired must apply to all staff – from the religion/theology teacher to the administrative assistant. 

The highly woke Jesuit college, Seattle University, is a perfect example of what a Catholic institution should notdo. They recently doubled down on their love affair with racist DEI propaganda (“Diversity/Equity/Inclusion”). Instead of making sure they are hiring faithful Catholic or at least not-defiant-to-Catholicism Christians, Seattle University has a different, singular objective. They proudly announced their primary goal is to “increase hiring of BIPOC staff and faculty, and improve retention of existing BIPOC staff and faculty” (BIPOC is a politically-correct, made-up term meaning “Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.”)

The wider culture already attempts to poison the minds and souls of children. Parents should not pay tuition to a Catholic school whose faculty do likewise. Professors and mentors will have an extremely close relationship to their kids and be highly influential for at least four years. This is why it is vital to research a university to verify its faculty and administrators are faithful Catholics.

We All Can Pray and Hope

Even if you are not a parent of a child who will be shopping for a college in the future, you can still be a part of this issue. First of all, if you are an alumni of a Catholic college, do not financially support them if they are more progressive-embracing than God-fearing.

Most importantly, pray that the majority of institutions of higher learning which employ “Catholic” in their name/origin story will return to their roots. Likewise, pray that their administration removes all offices, policies, and courses which push depraved gender ideology or follow racist/sexist DEI practices. Catholic schools need to resolve to only hire either faithful Catholic faculty or non-Catholics who pledge to not express disapproval toward the Catholic Church. 

We need the colleges which have lost their way to recover the Catholic identity that their alumni experienced in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. When this happens, the 21^st century Catholic college students will have greatly improved their chances to be formed as faithful, moral Christ-followers.