Virtual College Fair on St. John Henry Newman’s Feast Day

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Please help spread the word to high school students and parents about our Virtual College Fail on the Feast of St. John Henry Newman.  Live sessions will run on Thursday, October 9, from 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. ET and 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. ET.  Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from renowned speakers on navigating the college search and to meet with admissions representatives from Newman Guide Recommended colleges.  Registration is required, but the event is free of charge.  Families can register at: https://newmansoc.org/fair.

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…Read the previous article.

View the entire Programs Report as a PDF.

We’ll be praying for you on Cardinal Newman’s Feast Day, October 9

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With the announcement by Pope Leo that St. John Henry Newman will be named the 38th Doctor of the Church, we anticipate with great joy his feast day on October 9!  In thanksgiving for your support, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass will be offered for you and all Members of The Cardinal Newman Society on this day.

CNS members were invited to pray a novena October 1-9 asking St. John Henry Newman’s intercession for the renewal of faithful Catholic education and the blessing of the work and mission of The Cardinal Newman Society.  Please add this intention to your daily prayers as well.

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…Read the previous article.

View the entire Programs Report as a PDF.

The Chesterton Schools are on-track to become the next 80 in The Newman Guide

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Your support allowed a thorough review of the mission, curriculum, and policies of the Chesterton Schools Network’s 80 Catholic high schools.  I’m happy to announce each of these faithful schools has been invited to complete Newman Guide recognition by an expedited review process.  Thank you for helping recommend more faithful institutions for families.

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…Read the previous article.

View the entire Programs Report as a PDF.

Thanks to you, The Newman Guide recommends its 25th primary/secondary school

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Kingswood Academy in Darien, Ill., is the 25th primary/secondary school to achieve Newman Guide recognition, another milestone toward expanding The Newman Guide to recognize all faithful Catholic education across the U.S.  You make this success possible!

This PK-8 independent school was founded by Catholic parents and offers weekly Mass and frequent opportunities for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.  The school provides a Montessori-based preschool and a classical curriculum for all grades, integrating the Catholic faith into every subject.

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…Read the previous article.

View the entire Programs Report as a PDF.

On the other hand, there’s so much to celebrate—like these students and graduates!

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When I say we need more Charlie Kirks, I don’t mean we’re lacking in heroic witnesses today.  With your help, The Cardinal Newman Society will keep telling the stories of exemplary graduates of faithful Newman Guide education—like Katie Xavios!

Katie is a 2018 graduate of Belmont Abbey College who now leads American Life League, a faithfully Catholic pro-life organization.  When choosing Belmont Abbey, Katie says she “trusted the opinion of The Newman Guide, knowing I wanted to go to an authentically Catholic school.”  She joined the pro-life club and volunteered at MiraVia, an on-campus women’s shelter. “The experiences I had there really opened my eyes to how important the work is and how meaningful it is to be able to help a mom in need.”

Your support also helps celebrate students who are standing up to oppose dissident Catholic education.  Don’t miss our two-part Cardinal Newman Society Podcast (see link at our website) with Emily Torres, a convert who enrolled at Loyola University Chicago and encountered “Free Condom Fridays,” pro-abortion protests, drag shows mocking religious life, and professors pushing gender ideology.  Despite threats and public ridicule, Emily organized protests and reported anti-Catholic behavior to Loyola University administrators, only to be met with silence.

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…Read the previous article.

View the entire Programs Report as a PDF.

What’s the first step to recovery? Acknowledge the problem!

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Thanks to the support of friends like you, I see many hopeful signs of a “Second Spring” in Catholic education, but we can’t ignore ongoing problems.  That’s why we’re launching a new e-mail series for CNS members: “NOT in The Newman Guide!”  (If you aren’t getting our emails, sign up using the enclosed form or at our website.)

With your help, we’ll expose egregious failures in Catholic education, like DePaul University’s support for a pro-abortion student club affiliated with Planned Parenthood.  In the spring, DePaul suddenly banned the club, rightly declaring it violates DePaul’s “Catholic, Vincentian values,” but officials have since encouraged restarting the club without PP.  So much for Catholic values!

Meanwhile, in July, a Georgetown University-funded publication, The Georgetown Voice, celebrated “abortion doulas” who assist women during abortions.  Georgetown University nursing professor Christina Marea is quoted praising the practice as “beautiful” and lamenting cuts to federal funding for abortions.

Another Jesuit institution, the University of Scranton, has proudly hired pro-abortion former Sen. Bob Casey to teach and mentor students.  St. Ignatius, pray for us!

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…Read the previous article.

View the entire Programs Report as a PDF.

Please help share this video on the ‘educational emergency’

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If you’re looking to make some sense of what has happened, watch this webinar I presented for the Institute for Catholic Culture this summer, and please share it with others: cardinalnewmansociety.org/educational-emergency-video.  It focuses on Pope Benedict’s warning about today’s “educational emergency” and why there is renewed hope in Newman Guide Recommended education.

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…Read the previous article.

View the entire Programs Report as a PDF.

The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church

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Exciting things are happening in Catholic education, thanks to your support.  But the horrific killings of Charlie Kirk and the students at Annunciation School in Minneapolis are still weighing heavily on my mind.  Please know that our staff is praying with you for the victims and their families and teachers.  And like you, we are dismayed and outraged by this great evil.

So much has already been said.  Allow me to just add a few brief comments relevant to Catholic families and educators.  I’d love to hear your thoughts, too!  Send me a note in the enclosed envelope or to members@cardinalnewmansociety.org.

  • Bad education is dangerous: Charlie knew where to focus his efforts: on college campuses, where the souls of many young people are corrupted every day.  Too many schools and colleges are teaching radical ideology and encouraging moral depravity.  They divide America and fuel hatred.  You won’t see that at faithful Newman Guide schools and colleges.  We need them more than ever!
  • We aren’t made for this world. Despite the risks, Charlie’s focus was on eternal life with God.  That hope should imbue Catholic education.  We can be consoled that the Annunciation schoolchildren died receiving the grace of the Mass and knowing and loving God, which was the purpose of their lives.  But how many Catholic schools can’t find time for Mass?  How many conceal knowledge of God when teaching “secular” subjects?
  • Keep striving for reform: Intolerance toward Christians and the family is clearly rising among young people like the shooters in both incidents.  John Henry Newman warned that authentic Catholic renewal—he called it a “Second Spring”—can be preceded by dark clouds and even violent storms.  Without compromise but with charity, you and I must keep pressing for faithful Catholic education.  You may have noticed the red bar in The Cardinal Newman Society’s logo is the color of the Cardinal’s zucchetto, which signifies the blood of Christ whose truth, love, and redemption are the firm foundation of authentic Catholic education.  It also signifies the blood of the Christian martyrs, whose courageous witness to Christ is the model for every Catholic student.
  • We need more Charlie Kirks. Charlie once said, “I want to be remembered for courage, for my faith.”  Every Catholic child and young adult should be formed in faith, courage, and wisdom to become an inspiring witness to the truth.  What is the best way to form such witnesses?  Lifelong, faithfully Catholic education.

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View the entire Programs Report as a PDF.

Ep. 43: Defending Religious Freedom in Catholic Education with Greg Baylor

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Greg Baylor’s path to becoming one of the nation’s leading defenders of religious liberty was marked by conviction and purpose. As Senior Counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, he has spent decades protecting religious schools, families, and ministries from government overreach and cultural pressures that threaten their freedom to live faithfully.

In this conversation, Baylor breaks down the most pressing legal challenges facing Catholic education today, from Title IX disputes to conscience protections. With clarity and conviction, he explains why vigilance in the courts is essential for safeguarding Catholic identity, and how educators and parents alike can stand firm in the face of growing opposition.

This is a timely and practical look at the front lines of religious liberty — and why the fight for faithful education matters for the future of the Church.

Click here to watch on YouTube

Patrick Reilly: Educational Emergency

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Pope Benedict XVI warned of the “educational emergency” that leaves modern man ignorant of truth, without hope in Christ. For decades, most education in the U.S.—including much of Catholic education—has failed to provide young people the integral formation they deserve: practice in virtue and religion, cultivation of the mind through study of the liberal arts and sciences, and humility and reverence toward God by the grace found in prayer and Sacrament. But today, there is renewed hope in the example of parents, clergy, and religious who are reforming and renewing faithful Catholic education—by introducing new innovations and recovering the best of the past.