Editor’s Note: The institutional sponsors of Catholic Exchange, Holy Spirit College and Thomas More College, encouraged their students to participate actively in this year’s March for Life. Catholic Exchange agrees that the rule of thumb that Dr. Kengor proposes below is a reliable guide to spiritual vitality.
Listen to Dr. Kengor’s commentary here: March for Life
How to choose a Catholic college? Or, that is, an authentically Catholic college, one true to Church teachings—a real Catholic college.
That’s a headline you might catch in publications like the National Catholic Register, which every year publishes an excellent college guide. You can also consult the Cardinal Newman Society, a watchdog of America’s Catholic universities.
But here’s a guideline you might consider before sending your children and money to a Catholic college: What does the college do every January 22 for the anniversary of Roe v. Wade and annual March for Life? Take a look. Go to the website of the college and look at its academic calendar. Call the president’s office, the dean’s office, the Office of Student Life, or campus relations.
I checked the website of two wonderful Catholic colleges: Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, and Christendom College in Northern Virginia. Both colleges not only mark January 22 but cancel classes so students can attend the March for Life. Now those are places serious about their Catholic walk and the Church’s mission in America today. Those are colleges raising students to actively engage the Death Culture on behalf of a Culture of Life.
On the West Coast, I checked the website of the superb Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, California. Thomas Aquinas is way too far from Washington, DC to send buses to the March for Life. It did, however, send students to the Walk for Life in San Francisco. Talk about walking into the lion’s den. Good for Thomas Aquinas. Be not afraid.
But about the Catholic college near you, perhaps the one you attended back when there were still crucifixes in the classrooms? Maybe right now you’re considering sending your child there at some obscene tuition cost. Maybe they’ve been badgering you to send yet another “gift” as a faithful alumnus. Well, what did they do this year for the March for Life? Honor it, or ignore it? Give ‘em a call and ask.
For Catholic Exchange.com and Ave Maria Radio, I’m Paul Kengor.
[audio:https://catholicexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Kengor_Catholic_January-22-and-Catholic-Colleges_021612.mp3|titles=How to Choose a Catholic College ]
