U.S. Catholic colleges and universities produce more committed and practicing adult Catholics than do non-Catholic institutions of higher learning across the country, said two reports at the annual national meeting in Washington of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities.
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Richard A Yanikoski, outgoing ACCU president and CEO, sharply challenged contrary reports in his presidential address Feb. 1 at the close of the association's gathering.
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"Certain well-funded organizations external to the USCCB [U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops] and to Catholic higher education have made it their purpose to convince bishops, priests and the lay faithful that most of Catholic higher education is going astray," he said
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"These critics' perceptions are skewed by limited observation and a pre-ordained agenda," he said. He added that their criticisms, often widely publicized in the media, "infect how Catholic higher education is viewed by all who have a stake in the enterprise."
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The Jan. 30-Feb. 1 gathering of the ACCU also featured a report by the Georgetown University-based Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate on a three-year sociological study comparing religious belief and practice changes among Catholic students in Catholic higher education with those same changes among Catholic students in non-Catholic institutions.
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The researchers said the results challenge a recent Cardinal Newman Society claim that Catholic colleges and universities are failing in their mission because their students become less Catholic over their years in a Catholic university environment. - Source
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Very timely indeed.
"Certain well-funded organizations external to the USCCB [U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops] and to Catholic higher education ..."
ReplyDeleteDo you realize that the above phrase could be shortened to "objective observers"? How dare anyone outside the hallowed halls of Catholic High Ed. and the Che Guevara-postered offices of the USCCB comment on our business!!
Hmmm...wonder what he means by "Catholic identity"?
ReplyDeleteWords mean things; somehow I don't think what he means and is quite the same as those of us who have been in Catholic higher education and struggled with what "Catholic identity" means in this atmosphere.
School of Rock...how very COOL...
ReplyDeleteSara
Yeah, right. Tell me another one ACCU.
ReplyDeleteA reader asked me about my stance on this study... it's bull shit.
ReplyDelete"U.S. Catholic colleges and universities produce more committed and practicing adult Catholics than do non-Catholic institutions of higher learning across the country, said two reports at the annual national meeting in Washington of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities."
ReplyDeleteUh..I just got to thinkin's..this is kind of a no-brainer... they SHOULD because they have a proportionately HIGHER number of Catholic students...
I would not expect very many Catholic students to graduate say from Brigham Young University.. and I was the ONLY Catholic student in my graduating class from another public university in Utah...
I know as a university student I barely was able to attend Sunday Mass due to location and courseload, much less participate in additional parish activities. Not every campus has a Newman Center or parish close by. I'm sure many other students feel the same way, especially if there is a transportation issue..
Sara