Mission and Governance

Catholic College Closes, but Other Small Colleges Thrive on Faithful Catholic Mission

A small, Massachusetts-based Catholic college will close this month, citing financial difficulties brought about by declining enrollment.  But while many similarly small colleges around the country are struggling to find their niches in order to sustain enrollment, some faithful Catholic institutions are successfully leveraging their faithful Catholic identities to attract […]

Private Affairs and Private Institutions

This article is part of a collaborative series between The Cardinal Newman Society and the Culture of Life Foundation on Catholic education policy from the perspective of theology, ethics and the moral law. With government’s growing efforts to create a new norm for human sexuality, it should not be surprising […]

Catholic Schools, Firing Policies and Teacher Misconduct

This publication is the first in a collaborative series between The Cardinal Newman Society and the Culture of Life Foundation on complex moral issues in Catholic education policy.  These papers are intended to inform discussion and should not be regarded as definitive statements of policy or practice.  The views expressed […]

Maintain Schools’ Religious Character to Protect Religious Freedom

This is part of a series of research reports on the Common Core State Standards Initative and its potential impact on Catholic education. Introduction It is vital that religious educational institutions maintain their religious mission in all their programs—including standards, methods, and curriculum—if they want to avoid being subjected to federal […]

Questions and Answers About What the Latest HHS Mandate Rule Means for Catholic High Schools

This Issue Brief takes a look at the new “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” issued on February 1, 2013, by the Department of Health and Human Services concerning the federal mandate that health insurance plans, including those provided or arranged by non-exempt Catholic high schools, must include coverage of early abortion pills, contraception, sterilization, […]

Questions and Answers About What the Latest HHS Mandate Rule Means for Catholic Colleges

This Issue Brief takes a look at the new “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” issued on February 1, 2013, by the Department of Health and Human Services concerning the federal mandate that health insurance plans, including those provided or arranged by Catholic colleges, must include coverage of early abortion pills, contraception, sterilization, and related […]

Hiring for Mission at Catholic Colleges and Universities: A Survey of Current Trends and Practices

On the level of higher education, many of you have pointed to a growing recognition on the part of Catholic colleges and universities of the need to reaffirm their distinctive identity in fidelity to their founding ideals and the Church’s mission in service to the Gospel. Yet much remains to […]

The NLRB’s Assault on Religious Liberty

In January 2011, an acting regional director of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) sparked a national outcry with his ruling requiring Manhattan College, a Christian Brothers institution, to recognize a faculty union and comply with federal labor law despite the College’s religious identity.  The Board’s pending review of that […]

Assessing Catholic Identity: A Handbook for Catholic College and University Leaders

Contents: Assessing Catholic Identity Institutional IdentityMission Statement, Governing Documents & StatutesPolicies, Programs & CommitmentsRelationship with Diocesan BishopCooperation Leadership & AdministrationBoard of TrusteesAdministration and Non-Faculty Employees Faculty & AcademicsFacultyCurriculumTheologyResearch Students & Campus LifePastoral MinistryStudent Life Assessing Catholic Identity It is important that Catholic colleges and universities develop means of assessing their […]

Protecting Catholic Colleges from External Threats to Their Religious Liberty

Federal and state laws are increasingly being used to coerce religious institutions into actions and commitments that violate deeply held religious convictions and moral principles.  Some of these laws require employee and student health insurance that covers contraception, and mandate employee benefits for same sex couples. Catholic colleges and universities […]

How to Keep Your University Catholic

Dedication: To Father Michael Scanlan, T.O.R. President Emeritus, Franciscan University of Steubenville:Who has shown that it can be done. Table of Contents Foreword“Stewards of a Heritage, Bearers of Hope”by Rev. Msgr. Stuart Swetland, S.T.D.Preface to the Third PrintingPreface to the First PrintingAuthor’s NoteChapter 1: A Case StudyChapter 2: The BishopChapter […]

Crafting Employee Health Plans for Catholic Institutions

In the last few years, the Catholic Church and its Catholic institutions have faced attacks through legislation and judicial activism, which are increasingly coming in the form of mandates for health insurance “benefits” that support immoral behavior but not medical necessities. The most recent instances in the news include the […]

Contraceptive Mandates and Immoral Cooperation

As the largest provider of nongovernmental, nonprofit health care in the United States, Catholic health care is susceptible to being viewed as just another secular institution engaged in the welfare of the larger society, and at its behest. Those who wish to deny the ministerial nature of Catholic health care […]

Implications of Mandatory Insurance Coverage of Contraceptives for Catholic Colleges and Universities

You have asked us to describe some of the current issues surrounding conscientious objections to the funding of contraceptives through employee and student health insurance benefit plans. In particular, you have asked us to describe the general considerations confronting Catholic institutions that seek to comply with their understanding of their […]

Ex corde Ecclesiae: Echoes of Newman’s The Idea of a University

Having taught courses in the philosophy of education in two of the largest Catholic universities of the country for twenty years, I have more than a passing interest in the field. When the invitation came to consider presenting a paper to a conference sponsored by The Cardinal Newman Society to […]