Latest from the Newman Society

Lucas Koach – Former Anglican Priest

John Henry Newman

John Henry Newman, a Saint for Students

Here is an important saint for our times — and with a special love for students! Any student or parent seeking intercession would do well to pray to St. John Henry Newman (1801-1890), who was canonized last year and is celebrated on his feast day, Oct. 9. Newman has had […]

Today’s Youth Need Veritatis Splendor

Many Catholics have abandoned the faith—as many as 13 percent of American adults. Without a concerted effort toward renewed orthodoxy, we stand to lose many more. The road map for renewal, we believe, is found in St. John Paul II’s Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth). Catholic educators and youth ministers, and […]

us supreme court

Supreme Court Rulings Already Impacting Catholic Schools

This month, even before the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, the Court’s importance to Catholics was made apparent — and Catholic educators especially should take notice. The Supreme Court’s summer rulings are now being tested in Indianapolis, where a teacher who was rightly dismissed from Cathedral […]

flag and Bible

Newman Society Grateful for Federal Defense of Religious Freedom

Two actions by federal agencies this week have great importance to Catholic educators seeking relief from hostility to Catholic beliefs and protection of their religious freedom. On Tuesday, the Justice Department filed a brief at the Indiana Supreme Court, defending the Constitutional right of an Indianapolis Catholic high school to […]

Colleges Keep It Catholic Amid the Epidemic

While avoidance of COVID-19 has forced many schools and colleges to shift to online classes this fall, a few faithful Catholic colleges are attempting in-person education — and they are making extraordinary efforts to preserve the spiritual life on campus. Impressively, the fast-growing Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, doubled the […]

homeschool

Take a New Look at Catholic Education

After a summer of disappointment — closed camps, museums, movie theaters, even many pools, beaches and restaurants due to COVID concerns — the decision of many public and private schools to go entirely online is a crushing blow to parents. Now I see that some localities are doing everything possible […]

St. Peters Square

One Year Later, No Resolution on Brebeuf Scandal

Catholic schools across the nation are striving to keep their doors open, but Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis is not one of them… or is it? There’s no question whether Brebeuf will open; students are scheduled to start in-person classes on Aug. 13. What’s unresolved is whether the school […]

us supreme court

A Fragile Peace for Catholic Education

Across the country this month, many Americans celebrated “wins” for Catholic schools and religious freedom at the Supreme Court—and rightly so. But it would be a mistake to believe that Catholic education is secure without substantial fortification. In fact, the Catholic identity of our schools and colleges may be in […]

Supreme Court Defers to Canon Law in Catholic School Decision

There is an admirable concession to Catholic Church authority in the Supreme Court’s July 8 ruling on the “ministerial exception” for Catholic schools. Justice Samuel Alito, in his majority opinion for Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Agnes Morrissey-Berru, defers to the authority of the Catechism and the Church’s canon law with regard to Catholic […]

Maria Schmidt

Extraordinary Teens Love the Eucharist, Catholic Education

Wow! Thank God for hopeful signs, even in the darkest hours. I just read the most extraordinary, heart-warming testimonies by teenage Catholics who are in love with Jesus in the Eucharist. They refuse to succumb to secularism, and they are unwilling to attend colleges that fail to embrace his Real […]

Pope Saint John Paul II

Theology of the Body for Schoolchildren

If ever there was a time to teach young people about human nature and our common human dignity, it’s now. They need to know that race, sex and their very lives are willed by God. They need to know that marriage and family are also willed by God, and that […]

Good Seed: Standards for Christian Anthropology Released

Two weeks ago, on a video call from Rome to Florida, Dr. Joan Kingsland and Dr. Denise Donohue wrapped up a most important project: educational standards for grades K-8 based on St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body teachings. The Standards for Christian Anthropology provide a solid basis for […]

Into the Light: Webinar with Patrick Reilly

On May 31, 2020, Newman Society President Patrick Reilly presented a webinar with the Institute of Catholic Culture entitled, “Into the Light.” The webinar explored the exciting renewal of truth and fidelity happening in Catholic education today, and also discussed St. John Henry Newman’s “Idea of a University,” his innovations […]

Thomas More College of Liberal Arts

Distance Learning Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

It’s been a strange and difficult semester for Catholic schools and colleges. Our institutions offer a unique social, spiritual, and intellectual formation that depends on personal presence, but students have been exiled from our classrooms, chapels, and athletic fields. For Catholic educators who have struggled to build on the strong […]

Courts Weigh Future of Catholic Education

This month the Little Sisters of the Poor returned to the U.S. Supreme Court, once again defending their right to practice the Catholic Faith by refusing to provide for contraceptives in their health insurance plan. This is a stark reminder that even years later the Obama administration’s assault on religious freedom […]