Matthew V. Smith
Editor-in-Chief
ON NOVEMBER 1, the Cardinal Newman Society (CNS), a conservative Catholic watchdog organization, will publish the first edition of its Newman Guide to Choosing A Catholic College, an advance copy of which was sent to The Irish Rover for review. It includes detailed entries on 20 Catholic colleges and universities in the United States and one in Canada, for each of which it provides key statistics and comparative facts. It is not until one reaches the Guide’s epilogue, however, that Notre Dame is reviewed – without recommendation.
In a final section titled, What About Notre Dame?, the Newman Guide examines complex issues such as Catholic faculty hiring and academic freedom, as well as the University’s public identity, spiritual life, and student activities, before summarily concluding that Notre Dame simply does not meet its standard of what it means to be a Catholic institution.
Before treading any further, it should first be noted that, by publishing this Guide, the CNS is doing an essential service to Catholic students and families who are just beginning their college search. It compiles an impressive array of information on many fine schools with relatively small student bodies and without, perhaps, the name recognition and marketing apparatus that they deserve. The University of Dallas, Benedictine College, and the Catholic University of America stand out in this regard. I will not go into great detail about the other institutions mentioned. Suffice it to say, the Guide is well worth reading to anyone who is interested.
Fully one-third of the schools reviewed in the Newman Guide, however, have undergraduate enrollments of fewer than 100 students. Four were founded in the last five years. Clearly, there is far less basis for comparison between Notre Dame – a school with a rich history and a long list of challenges overcome – and these fledgling institutions than the editors of the Guide would allow. And yet, Notre Dame is lambasted for not meeting the supposed standard of Catholicity set by institutions which it dwarfs by every quantifiable measure.
Even if one were to grant the comparison between Notre Dame and, say, Christendom College or Ave Maria University, it is woefully apparent that the Newman Guide’s evaluation of Notre Dame is skewed by an outdated and, at times, sensationalized perception of recent events at the University. The Vagina Monologues (not performed as a ticketed event since 2005) and Queer Film Festival (since renamed and today unrecognizable from previous
incarnations) are discussed ad nauseam, and yet there is no mention of the programming offered by the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center or of the Center for Social Concerns.
It is furthermore remarkable that, given a student body of over 10,000, the CNS should be so astonished at the presence of an unsanctioned Gay-Straight Alliance, as well as that of the officially recognized Progressive Student Alliance (which, it laments, “advocates for homosexual and workers’ rights”). Granted, the views of these organizations are not by and large shared by The Rover; however the mere fact that they exist on a large campus should come as no surprise to observers of higher education, and certainly should not outweigh the merits of the strong spiritual life of this University when deciding where it falls on the spectrum of Catholic identity.
While it misses the mark in its evaluation of Notre Dame, the publication of the Newman Guide gives us pause to reflect on the fact that while we are all at times critical of Our Lady’s University, we are also intensely loyal. Indeed, it is because of the loyalty that we share that we are critical at all. For what dog would remain silent while his owner is in trouble?
We should reflect also on the question, why is the Newman Guide necessary in the first place? Clearly, something has gone wrong in Catholic higher education which has led to the secularization of many well-known institutions. We share the CNS’s concern that Notre Dame will join in their “desire to move from their traditional Catholic liberal arts moorings to a financially driven research university model” that is now characteristic of those institutions.
In one of several good introductory essays to the Newman Guide, CNS President Patrick Reilly outlines this very shift and the way in which it has led to a crisis in Catholic higher education. While we heartily disagree with the conclusion drawn by the Newman Guide’s “candid and detailed assessment of Notre Dame’s notable strengths and disappointing weaknesses as a Catholic institution,” we respect their intentions and value the focus that they place on issues surrounding Catholic identity at universities such as our own.
Contact Matt at ndirishrover@gmail.com.
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