Searching for "Catholic identity" on campuses<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"St. Ignatius Loyola was clear from the beginning that a Jesuit education would involve more than texts and classrooms, teaching that students should\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/05\/searching-for-catholic-identity-on-campuses\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Searching for "Catholic identity" on campuses\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"St. Ignatius Loyola was clear from the beginning that a Jesuit education would involve more than texts and classrooms, teaching that students should\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/05\/searching-for-catholic-identity-on-campuses\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Terry Mattingly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-05-28T11:06:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"tmatt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"tmatt\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/05\/searching-for-catholic-identity-on-campuses\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/05\/searching-for-catholic-identity-on-campuses\/\",\"name\":\"Searching for \\\"Catholic identity\\\" on campuses\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-05-28T11:06:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-05-28T11:06:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#\/schema\/person\/76ce2260a572ff41a28fb285de9350f1\"},\"description\":\"St. Ignatius Loyola was clear from the beginning that a Jesuit education would involve more than texts and classrooms, teaching that students should\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/05\/searching-for-catholic-identity-on-campuses\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/05\/searching-for-catholic-identity-on-campuses\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/05\/searching-for-catholic-identity-on-campuses\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Searching for “Catholic identity” on campuses\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/\",\"name\":\"Terry Mattingly\",\"description\":\"On Religion\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#\/schema\/person\/76ce2260a572ff41a28fb285de9350f1\",\"name\":\"tmatt\",\"description\":\"Terry Mattingly directs the Washington Journalism Center at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. 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{"id":2559,"date":"2012-05-28T07:06:29","date_gmt":"2012-05-28T11:06:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tmatt.net\/?p=2559"},"modified":"2012-05-28T07:06:29","modified_gmt":"2012-05-28T11:06:29","slug":"searching-for-catholic-identity-on-campuses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2012\/05\/searching-for-catholic-identity-on-campuses\/","title":{"rendered":"Searching for “Catholic identity” on campuses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Thus, the motto of the Society of Jesus can be found in gilded letters across the front of Georgetown University\u2019s famous Gaston Hall: \u201cAd Majorem Dei Gloriam Inque Hominum Salutem (For the Greater Glory of God and the Salvation of Humanity).\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words, a Jesuit university should be judged on its impact on souls, as well as the quality of its research and scholarship. Attempting to balance this equation has caused intense and often bitter debates at Georgetown and other Catholic schools across the nation \u2014 with the Vatican listening in.<\/p>\n

The key is to follow St. Ignatius in linking morals and academics, according to the founder of the Tocqueville Forum at Georgetown, a program dedicated to building character and virtue in students. This strategy is also linked to Vatican demands that Catholic educators maintain a \u201cCatholic identity\u201d on their campuses.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor far too many students today there is a huge gap between what happens in our classrooms and their experiences in their dormitories, in the dining hall and in the rest of life on and off campus,\u201d said Patrick J. Deneen. Thus, it\u2019s time for Catholic administrators and faculty members to remember that the \u201cstate of our students\u2019 lives has as much to do with the state of their souls as the state of their bodies and their minds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Growing concerns about \u201cCatholic identity\u201d issues played a role in Deneen\u2019s recent decision to leave Georgetown and accept a similar political science post at the University of Notre Dame. While stressing he doesn\u2019t want to \u201cbecome the poster boy for Georgetown bashing\u201d the political science professor said he was increasingly concerned about the impact of years of clashes between Georgetown and church leaders over issues of doctrine and public life.<\/p>\n

These debates could reach Rome, if a prominent Georgetown graduate has his way. Academy Award winner William Peter Blatty, best known for writing \u201cThe Exorcist,\u201d is leading a petition drive requesting that the Archdiocese of Washington and perhaps the Vatican investigate 20-plus years of complaints about the university\u2019s compliance with guidelines in the 1990 \u201capostolic constitution\u201d on education issued by Pope John Paul II entitled \u201cEx Corde Ecclesiae (From the Heart of the Church)<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe may choose to file a canon action again, one much larger in scale and seeking alternative forms of relief that will include, among others, that Georgetown\u2019s right to call itself Catholic and Jesuit be revoked or suspended for a time,\u201d noted Blatty, in his online appeal (GUpetition.org<\/a>) to supporters. \u201cWhat we truly seek is for Georgetown to have the vision and courage to be Catholic, but clearly the slow pastoral approach has not worked.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Georgetown administration did not respond, earlier this week, to repeated requests for a response to the Blatty effort.<\/p>\n

Among its many requirements, Ex Corde Ecclesiae states: \u201cIn ways appropriate to the different academic disciplines, all Catholic teachers are to be faithful to, and all other teachers are to respect, Catholic doctrine and morals in their research and teaching.\u201d However, the pope also said the \u201cfreedom of conscience of each person is to be fully respected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Georgetown is not alone in struggling with the tensions created by these kinds of statements, stressed Deneen. The key is that administrators must be willing to seek faculty who are committed to a school\u2019s \u201ccharacter and mission,\u201d as well as to their own research and careers.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Deneen said he has found that today\u2019s students \u201ccrave input\u201d on subjects that are both highly personal and academic \u2014 such as dating and marriage, as well as how to blend career ambitions with concerns about building strong families in neighborhoods and communities that mesh with their personal values.<\/p>\n

The goal is for Catholic educators to find a way for dialogues about these kinds of moral topics \u201cto infuse campus life at every level,\u201d from the dorm room to the classroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt used to be normal for students to hear about these kinds of moral and spiritual issues from faculty members, not just from campus ministers,\u201d said Deneen. However, on far too many Catholic campuses \u201cthey are no longer seen by faculty members as being important to their work. Some even consider them off limits.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"