By JAMES K. FITZPATRICK
College students are not children, yet the line from Isaiah 11:6, about how “a little child shall lead them,” may fit the role they will play is correcting the disorder at our Catholic universities. Perhaps it is wishful thinking, but one cannot help but wonder if the day will come when the students who attend Catholic colleges and universities will voice their opposition to the drift away from Catholicism at their schools.
Prominent universities led by Catholic religious orders still use their admissions brochures to proclaim one version or another of their identity as “a Jesuit, Catholic university”; an “academic community of higher learning, animated from its origins by the Congregation of Holy Cross . . . where the various lines of Catholic thought may intersect with all the forms of knowledge found in the arts, sciences, professions.” Or define their curriculum as dedicated to the “Augustinian ideals of truth, unity, and love; and a community dedicated to service to others.”
Do truth in advertising laws cover college admissions material?
One would have to think that a significant number of the students who chose these schools were drawn to the Catholic identity expressed in these proclamations. It is even more likely that their parents, who pay their tuition, thought this was what they were purchasing; that they were consciously seeking an alternative to Animal House. Is it far-fetched to hope that the students at these schools will one day ask themselves why they enrolled in a Catholic university, if campus life and the curriculum is not all that different from Ohio State’s or a private secular university’s?
Maybe not. Consider the campaign being waged at Notre Dame by The Irish Rover, an independent, student-run newspaper at the university. The editors of the publication have initiated a protest to uphold “the Catholic character of Notre Dame,” specifically in regard to the decision by the school’s administration to grant the Laetare Medal at this year’s commencement to Vice President Joe Biden, an advocate of legalized abortion for decades now.
Below are key passages of the public letter the editors sent to Fr. John Jenkins, CSC, president of the university:
“We are deeply disappointed and discouraged by Notre Dame’s announcement that Vice President Joe Biden…will receive the Laetare Medal at this year’s commencement. The Laetare Medal is presented annually to an American Catholic ‘in recognition of outstanding service to the Church and society.’ It is considered the oldest and most prestigious award for American Catholics.”
The editors pointed to Fr. Jenkins’ explanation for the decision to honor Biden:
“One of our great challenges today is people who disagree often will vilify, attack, demean the opposition and then they cannot work with the opposition. One of the great Catholic concepts is the common good. What is the common good? You and I may disagree…but we have to recognize that whatever we think, we have to act for the common good.”
Jenkins continued: “One thing I hope we do at the University is we try to bring our students to understand they can disagree but they need to talk to one another, reason with one another and despite differences, they should always respect the other person and not demean. Unless we do that, we cannot work together, we cannot serve the common good. We are just in this gridlock of antagonism that is all too common today.”
The editors of The Irish Rover didn’t bite. They refused to buy Jenkins’ rationale. They wrote, “Most would agree the tone of our politics could be improved, but Fr. Jenkins’ call for civility is a mistaken basis upon which to decide who is worthy of the Laetare Medal. By awarding the Laetare Medal to Biden…the University discredits the award, which ought to honor an American Catholic for service to the Church and society rather than make a point about the character of political dialogue. The University has made a mistake, one that devalues the Laetare Medal and reflects poorly on the judgment of the University’s leaders.”
What of Biden’s bipartisanship? Does it not deserve to be commended, even if he is “pro-choice”? The Rover’s editors can recognize a con job when they see it: “During his years in the Senate, he was undoubtedly one of the most rabidly partisan senators. He did more than anyone in Washington to turn the confirmation process for Supreme Court nominees into a political bloodbath. He has repeatedly applauded the Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade. For some of his years in the Senate, he received a zero rating from pro-life groups.”
They point to Biden’s support for “embryonic stem-cell research” and his vote “against a ban on human cloning. He embraces same-sex marriage and the HHS mandate, which requires religious institutions such as Notre Dame to facilitate coverage of contraceptives and abortifacients under its health-care plans….Biden’s positions on all these issues are directly contrary to Church teaching. His public service has not been ‘to the Church,’ but largely against the Church.”
The editors go on to remind the administration at Notre Dame that the United States bishops have specifically instructed “the Catholic community and Catholic institutions” not to “honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors, or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”
The editors close with the following: “As students of this University, some of whom will graduate in May, we are disappointed Notre Dame has failed in this instance to live up to its Catholic mission. We deserve to see the Laetare Medal given to an American Catholic who merits it by having served as an outstanding example for Catholics and having performed real service to the Church in this country.”
The Irish Rover and its staff deserve to be commended. They stood tall in the face of fashionable opinion. The administration at Notre Dame could learn a thing or two from them. There is a difference between open-mindedness and wishy-washiness.
On another, but related, topic: J.M. of Wikieup, Ariz., writes to deplore the double standard that is present in our secondary schools and universities: “What kind of an educational system do we have that leaves so many young people in the dark about their own country’s history! Donald Trump is demonized as a Nazi, while Bernie Sanders is touted as a liberator?
“Surely they know that Nazi meant National Socialist…socialist as in Bernie Sanders? Why is George Bush demonized for his response to the World Trade Center downing? Over 2,700 people died in that attack. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor killed fewer Americans, just over 2,400, but the icon of the left, Franklin D. Roosevelt, put tens of thousands of American citizens in concentration camps (a/k/a internment camps), entered a war that killed hundreds of thousands of Americans, and eventually A-bombed two cities, civilians and all! Why is another icon of the left, Woodrow Wilson, never called out for segregating the military?”
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Readers are invited to submit comments and questions about this and other educational issues. The e-mail address for First Teachers is fitzpatrijames@sbcglobal.net, and the mailing address is P.O. Box 15, Wallingford, CT 06492.
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