A Win for Benedictine College

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Nothing could be more sensible: a Catholic college with a proud heritage in football invites Harrison Butker, a faithfully Catholic athlete—one of the best kickers in the NFL, whose team just won the Super Bowl—to speak at its commencement ceremony.

From any rational perspective, Benedictine College did everything right.

And what could be more appropriate, that the speaker at a Catholic college commencement ceremony would uphold Catholic morality and celebrate marriage and family above career?

From an authentically Catholic perspective, Harrison Butker did everything right.

Students of Benedictine College stood to applaud Butker’s speech—and more, they celebrated the distinctive Catholic education they had been privileged to receive at one of the very few colleges deserving Newman Guide Recommended status.

The students and their parents, in choosing education that forms young people in accord with both our Christian faith and the light of reason, did everything right.

That’s because a Newman Guide education is rooted in truth, never yielding to “political correctness” or “wokeness” that changes with every generation and at the whim of destructive political movements.

A Newman Guide college defends the freedom to seek and proclaim truth. It does not accept the radical liberty to deceive and malform students.

A Newman Guide institution chooses commencement speakers who model our Catholic faith, virtue, and wisdom—the sort of people students can emulate. In 2024, these included:

  • evangelist Fr. Mike Schmitz at Ave Maria University (Ave Maria, Fla.),
  • actor Jonathan Roumie at The Catholic University of America (Washington, D.C.),
  • theologian Tracey Rowland at Christendom College (Front Royal, Va.),
  • Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito at Franciscan University of Steubenville (Steubenville, Ohio),
  • evangelist Fr. Wade Menezes, C.P.M., at Holy Apostles College and Seminary (Cromwell, Conn.),
  • former Knights of Columbus leader Carl Anderson at The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts (Merrimack, N.H.),
  • Catholic bioethicist Carter Snead and Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke at Thomas Aquinas College (Santa Paula, Calif., and Northfield, Mass.),
  • evangelist Fr. David Michael Moses at the University of St. Thomas (Houston, Tex.), and
  • Byzantine Catholic Bishop Robert Pipta at Wyoming Catholic College (Lander, Wyo.).

Any one of these speakers, in complete fidelity to Catholic teaching, might have said something during their commencement speech that Harrison Butker’s critics would not have liked. They probably did, but Butker was the high-profile target.

In fact, the public outcry, NFL statement, and media attacks are intended to topple something much larger than Butker or even Benedictine College. They are aimed at the Catholic Church. They project intolerance for Catholic beliefs and certain truths about the human person. Those who stand with Butker are threatened with all the fanaticism, injustice, and brutality of a totalitarian regime.

Many Catholics like those who rushed to befriend Butker’s critics are quick to compromise and eager to please those who hate them. The Cardinal Newman Society has always represented a different approach. We stand firmly with all that is true, good, and beautiful, and we proudly recommend those Newman Guide schools, colleges, and graduate programs that do the same.

The result? While it seems another private college closes every week in the U.S.—unable to compete with state-sponsored, career-oriented, woke universities on the same terms—most of the Newman Guide colleges are thriving.

Rather than apologize for their Catholic education, they embrace The Cardinal Newman Society’s standards for excellence and fidelity. They realize the importance of having firm policies in place, such as campus speaker policies that favor model Catholics like Butker and prevent those who would scandalize and deliberately mislead students into falsehood.

If there’s one lesson Catholics should learn from the Harrison Butker spectacle, it’s that the education we want is the education modeled by Benedictine College and the other Newman Guide Recommended institutions, as well as faithful Catholic homeschooling and hybrid options.

Why? Because they’re doing everything right.

High Percentage of Catholic Teachers is a Hallmark of Newman Guide Schools

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What distinguishes a Newman Guide school? One key element is the witness of Catholic teachers.

Pope Pius XI wrote, “Perfect schools are the result not so much of good methods as of good teachers.” He is one of the many Church leaders quoted in The Cardinal Newman Society’s resource, The Call to Teach: Magisterial Guidance for Catholic Teachers.

Pope Pius XI goes on to describe good teachers as those who are “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…”

To be recommended in The Newman Guide, Catholic schools must provide the percentage of full-time teachers, part-time teachers, counselors and coaches who are Catholic. Faith-filled teachers are critical in Catholic education, as explained in a recent issue of Our Catholic Mission, a Cardinal Newman Society magazine.

Michael Swearingen, principal of Holy Angels Academy in Louisville, Ky. which is recommended in The Newman Guide, has seen the impact of hiring faithfully Catholic teachers who believe and live what they teach: “The biggest factor in a school like ours isn’t the textbooks, though we are careful about those. It’s the men and women we have in the classroom. We are so prayerful and so discerning about the men and women whom we invite to this vocation of teaching within their vocation.”

“Every adult in this building is a herald of the Gospel,” he says. “It does not matter what subject material you are teaching, or what grade level you are teaching.” His entire faculty takes the Oath of Fidelity to the magisterium of the Catholic Church. “We do everything in our school for the greater glory of God.”

“We want faithful, on-fire, vibrant Catholics who are loyal to holy Mother Church instructing our children,” Dr. Swearingen continues. He says the school partners with parents to prepare students for this life and for the eternal life to come.

Every teacher at Holy Angels Academy is Catholic. Many of the other outstanding Catholic schools recognized in The Newman Guide boast high percentages of full-time Catholic faculty:

  • Holy Angels Academy in Louisville, Ky.: 100 percent
  • Holy Child Catholic School in Tijeras, N.M.: 91 percent
  • Holy Rosary Academy in Anchorage, Alaska: 90 percent
  • Holy Spirit Academy in Monticello, Minn.: 100 percent
  • Lumen Christi Catholic School in Indianapolis, Ind.: 100 percent
  • The Lyceum in South Euclid, Ohio: 100 percent
  • Mary Star of the Sea High School in San Pedro, Calif.: 90 percent
  • Mount Royal Academy in Sunapee, N.H.: 92 percent
  • Rhodora J. Donahue Academy in Ave Maria, Fla.: 100 percent
  • Saint Agnes School in Saint Paul, Minn.: 97 percent
  • Seton School in Manassas, Va.: 100 percent
  • Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School in Keller, Tex.: 94 percent
  • John Paul II Preparatory School in St. Charles, Mo.: 100 percent
  • Monica Academy in Montrose, Calif.: 100 percent

Three Catholic alumni of another Newman Guide Recommended school, Donahue Academy in Ave Maria, Fla., are now serving as teachers and aides at the school. Dr. Marc Snyder, the Academy’s principal, thinks it’s a “beautiful thing to see how they want to give back” to the school that has provided them with so much, including a classical curriculum and access to daily Mass.

Catholic parents who are seeking a Catholic school should ask about the percentage of Catholic teachers. There are many factors to consider in finding a faithful Catholic school, but the witness of strong Catholic teachers should be a high priority.

Ep. 16: The ‘Ave Maria Law Difference’ with Dean John Czarnetzky (Pt.2)

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What is the Ave Maria Law School difference? Find out as we continue our conversation with Dean John Czarnetzky.

Ep. 15: The ‘Ave Maria Law Difference’ with Dean John Czarnetzky (Pt.1)

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Tune into our interview with Dean John Czarnetzky of Ave Maria School of Law located in Naples, Florida. We discuss the story of how the law school was founded, and the importance of sending forth Catholic lawyers in every corner of our culture armed with the ‘Ave Maria Law Difference’! 

CNS Joins Amicus Brief on Upholding Religious Autonomy – Garrick v Moody Bible Institute, 7th Circuit

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Moody Bible Institute is seeking to protect its constitutional freedom to make employment decisions as a religious school after it dismissed a faculty member over a difference in religious beliefs.

Click here to access the amicus brief PDF.

Highs and Lows of Catholic Commencements in 2024

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You can tell a lot about someone by the friends they keep. And you can tell a lot about a college by whom it chooses to honor by delivering a commencement speech or receiving an honorary degree.

The distinctly faithful Catholic colleges recognized by The Cardinal Newman Society in The Newman Guide have chosen outstanding speakers for this year’s commencement ceremonies. Many are witnesses to the Catholic faith and the sort of people graduates should emulate. Here are some examples (more will be added as they become available):

  • Ave Maria University (Ave Maria, Fla.) – Fr. Mike Schmitz, a Catholic priest and speaker who is known for The Bible in a Year and The Catechism in a Year podcasts.
  • Benedictine College (Atchison, Kan.) – Harrison Butker, a professional football player with the Kansas City Chiefs and three-time Super Bowl Champion, who is outspoken about his Catholic faith and pro-life values.
  • The Catholic University of America (Washington, D.C.) – Jonathan Roumie, an actor who portrays Jesus Christ in The Chosen TV series and who publicly shares his Catholic faith.
  • Christendom College (Front Royal, Va.) – Professor Tracey Rowland, the St. John Paul II Chair of Theology for the University of Notre Dame Australia, who served for many years as the dean of the St. John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family, is the author of many books, including one on the theology and faith of Pope Benedict XVI.
  • Franciscan University of Steubenville (Steubenville, Ohio) – Hon. Samuel A. Alito, Jr., U.S. Supreme Court Justice, author of the deciding opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade, and a practicing Catholic.
  • Holy Apostles College and Seminary (Cromwell, Conn.) – Fr. Wade Menezes, C.P.M., a Catholic priest who is a graduate of Holy Apostles, and has spread the Gospel and defended the truths of the faith through TV, radio and print, including serving as Host of EWTN’s Global Catholic Radio’s Open Line Tuesday.
  • The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts (Merrimack, N.H.) – Carl Anderson, former Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, has been a champion for the pro-life movement, including working for the Hyde Amendment and Mexico City Policy and urging that Roe v. Wade wasn’t “settled law.”
  • Thomas Aquinas College (Santa Paula, Calif., and Northfield, Mass.) – Dr. Carter Snead of the University of Notre Dame’s law school who is a Catholic bioethicist, and His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, a staunch defender of the Catholic faith who has also been a tireless advocate for the renewal of Catholic education.
  • University of St. Thomas (Houston, Tex.) – Fr. David Michael Moses, a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, who shares about his faith on YouTube with truth and joy, and has performed a series of “Concerts for Life” to raise money for women in crisis pregnancies in Houston.
  • Wyoming Catholic College (Lander, Wyo.) – Most Rev. Robert M. Pipta, Bishop of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Parma of the Ruthenians and former rector of the Byzantine Catholic Seminary of Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Pittsburgh.

On the other hand, some Catholic colleges continue to reveal their confusion and weak commitment to the authentic mission of Catholic education by choosing commencement speakers who oppose Catholic moral teaching or otherwise model bad behaviors and advocacy. These Catholic colleges persist in violating the U.S. bishops’ policy forbidding Catholic organizations from giving “those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles… awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”

Here are a few examples in 2024:

  • Emmanuel College (Boston, Mass.) has announced that Jack Connors Jr., founding partner of Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos, Inc., will address graduates and receive an honorary degree. His lead gift helped establish the Mary Horrigan Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Mass., initially directed by Dr. Paula Johnson, former chair of the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts. Since 2005, the Center has provided training in abortion and contraception through its Complex Family Planning Fellowship in partnership with Planned Parenthood; its director since the Fellowship’s launch has been Dr. Alisa Goldberg, then director of clinical research and now vice president of clinical training for the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts. Far from a disinterested donor, Connors in 2007 hailed the Center as his favorite charity, “closest to the family’s heart.” Connors also hosted lavish fundraisers for former President Barack Obama, the most pro-abortion president in history.
  • Fordham University (New York, N.Y.) will honor former Congressman Joseph Patrick Kennedy III as commencement speaker and honorary degree recipient. Kennedy has been a cosponsor of pro-abortion and pro-contraception bills, including the “Abortion is Health Care Everywhere Act of 2020” which would “authorize the use of certain foreign assistance funds to provide comprehensive reproductive health care services in developing countries, including abortion services, training, and equipment.”
  • Rosemont College (Rosemont, Penn.) has invited State Rep. Joanna McClinton to deliver the college’s commencement address and receive an honorary degree. McClinton went viral in 2022 with a pro-abortion speech.
  • Sacred Heart University (Fairfield, Conn.) has chosen activist Sister Simone Campbell of the Sisters of Social Service as one of its commencement speakers and honorary degree recipients. In a 2016 interview, on the topic of abortion, Campbell is quoted as saying, “From my perspective, I don’t think it’s a good policy to outlaw abortion. I think, rather, let’s focus on economic development for women and economic opportunity.” While she was president of the NETWORK lobby, the group was included in a Vatican investigation of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious for promoting “certain radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith.”
  • Spring Hill College (Mobile, Ala.) will host the president of another Jesuit college, Fordham University, as commencement speaker. President Tania Tetlow is a dissident Catholic who has expressed her support of same-sex marriage and says she was “raised in a different worldview” than those who hold “gender as binary.”
  • University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, Ind.) has given the commencement address duty to its outgoing president, Fr. John Jenkins, C.S.C., who defied the U.S. bishops’ policies and honored pro-abortion President Barack Obama at commencement in 2009, despite the protest from 83 American bishops and the 367,000 people who signed The Cardinal Newman Society’s petition. Jenkins defied his bishop other times, in permitting student performances of the vile Vagina Monologues, honoring pro-abortion then-Vice President Joe Biden, allowing a campus Queer Film Festival, and approving coverage for contraceptives in the university’s health insurance plans.
  • Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.) will each present a “Lavender Graduation” for students who identify as LGBT+. These events confuse students and celebrate lifestyles and ideologies that run contrary to Church teaching on human sexuality and gender.

For Catholic families looking for a good Catholic college, take note of the college’s commencement speaker. It speaks volumes about a Catholic college’s identity—and might just be the deciding word on your college choice. Be sure to see the faithful colleges at The Newman Guide.

*Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article confused Joseph Patrick Kennedy III with Patrick Joseph Kennedy II, both with similar records on abortion. We also incorrectly identified Sister Simone Campbell as a former president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious; she has been an outspoken defender and informal leader within the group. We regret these errors.

Ep. 14: Finding Your Life’s Calling at Franciscan University with President, Fr. Dave Pivonka (Pt.2)

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We continue our discussion with Father Dave Pivonka, president of Franciscan University of Steubenville. We discuss the University’s growth and success, overcoming challenges, embracing his role as priest and president, and much more.

Ep. 13: Finding Your Life’s Calling at Franciscan University with President, Fr. Dave Pivonka (Pt.1)

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In this episode, we are joined by Father Dave Pivonka, president of Franciscan University of Steubenville Ohio to discuss what sets Franciscan apart, the university’s success under his leadership, helping students find their life’s calling, and much more.

Ep. 12: From Fighter Pilot to Fighting for Faithful Catholic Education, Meet Walsh University President Tim Collins (Pt.2)

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Few guests have more passion than President Tim Collins of Walsh University! Join us for part two of our discussion about what sets Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio, apart from other colleges, and how they strive to have their students discover a sense of purpose.

Catholic College Graduate Guides Pilgrims Deeper in Faith Through ‘Eternal City’

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Joseph Long

While studying abroad in Rome, Italy, with a faithful Catholic college, the Catholic faith became “more alive” for Joseph Long. Now Long helps others experience the beauty of the Catholic faith through ProRome Tours, a company he founded that leads faith-filled tours and pilgrimages around the world.

Long chose to attend Christendom College in Front Royal, Va., which is recognized in The Newman Guide for its strong Catholic education, because he wanted to attend a college where he could practice his faith, surrounded by others who were also striving to do so. Christendom College’s Rome program was also very attractive to him.

During their junior year, many Christendom students spend their semester studying in Rome and living just 30 minutes from St. Peter’s Basilica. The experience impacted Long, especially seeing the succession of popes since St. Peter, and made him eager to “to share [his] love for the faith through experiences of Rome and throughout Italy.”

“Being in Rome, the faith just becomes something real to you,” explained Long. “You can put the pieces of the puzzle together in a textbook back home, but when you go and actually see it, it becomes part of your fiber. And once you see it, you can’t forget it. It helps you evangelize, and it helps you understand your own faith.”

Christendom College offered Long a whole Catholic outlook for his life—and his work.

“At Christendom, [we were taught] the notion that the center and the most important part of human history is Jesus Christ coming into this world. When Christ came, died, and rose again, that was the absolute apex of human history. All of history at Christendom was taught in this light,” Long explained.

“It is the worldview that a Catholic must have in order to understand everything properly,” Long continued.

After graduating from college, Long became an Italian citizen, worked on his Italian language in Rome, and earned his master’s degree in Church history from the Pontifical University of Santa Croce. In 2014, with a $10,000 loan and “a lot of energy,” he founded ProRome Tours, a faith-based travel business.

By 2019, ProRome Tours was garnering $1.5 million in sales and growing. Then, the pandemic of 2020 hit, pausing international trips, and Long had to switch gears to teaching Italian online. Amazingly, he was able keep ProRome alive and is back to serving more than 1,000 clients annually.

Long’s travel company focuses on providing meaningful trips. In a description of a summer program for high school students, ProRome advertises that the trip will help propel students “in the right direction, increase their confidence in the Catholic faith, and introduce them to good ideas and great friends.”

For those who are considering where to attend college, Long encourages students to “go somewhere that is Catholic, that is very Catholic and is proud of its Catholicism. Go somewhere that you’ll be able to nurture that Catholicism and be able to explore things that interest you.”

Long credits his faithful Catholic education with giving him the tools he needed to start his own business—a business that is a blessing for him and those he serves. “Going to Christendom not only gave me incredible friends and reinforced my faith, but it also gave me incredible education that allowed me to think freely think for myself and challenge the status quo.”