Foreword

Father Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R.

Father Groeschel, a much-loved author, preacher and servant to the poor, is the co-chairman of The Cardinal Newman
Society’s National Advisory Board, founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, and director of spiritual development
for the Archdiocese of New York. A popular host of Sunday Night Live on EWTN, he is the author of numerous books.

Many of you will know that for much of my tion in Western civilization.
priesthood I have been on a mission to renew We have every right also to expect Cath-
Catholic higher education in our country. I olic institutions to inspire and lead students
have seen the good and the bad—and let me to the pursuit of an intelligent and good life
tell you, there is enough of the bad out there despite the present situation.
to keep armies of priests busy in the confes- Sad to say, many institutions with a Cath-
sional. olic name do just the opposite. The reason for
This is why for years now I have stood their lethargy and failure to fulfill their pur-
with my friends at The Cardinal Newman So- poses is not always an attack on faith, but of-
ciety to sound the ten stems from greed.
alarm when col- Somehow or
leges ignore, mock other the belief is
or abandon their
Colleges are places where students still strong that
Catholic identity. the more build-
are able to find God or to have God ings they build
And we have to
look no farther and the more stu-
hidden from them. Where they can
than Our Lady’s dents they have,
University, Notre learn to live a virtuous life or expe- the better the edu-
Dame, to see the cation will be.
epitome of what it rience how easy it is to embrace the This is ab-
means for a Catho- solute nonsense,
lic university to lies of our permissive culture. which becomes
embrace the secu- obvious if we
lar culture at the only give it some
expense of the Church. thought. Saint Paul’s observation (1 Timothy
It is a sad fact that our country is cur- 6:10) that greed is the root of all evil is cer-
rently squandering its most essential valuable tainly pertinent to understanding the large-
resource, namely, its youth. They are exposed scale apostasy of much of Catholic higher
to advanced technical training masquerading education.
as education. In the process they are also ex- This is a serious problem because the
posed to all kinds of values that are contrary stakes are so high. Colleges are places where
to life and their good as human beings, espe- students are able to find God or to have God
cially their spiritual good. In response to this, hidden from them. Where they can learn to
one would expect Catholic education to pres- live a virtuous life or experience how easy it
ent a broad and clear humanistic approach to is to embrace the lies of our permissive cul-
culture with emphasis on the Catholic tradi- ture.

The Newman Guide 17

Foreword

Presumably parents and students choose and receive the sacraments devoutly.
a Catholic education because they are seek- Some of the smaller colleges we recom-
ing someplace that will educate the mind, mend have a strong emphasis on literature
body and soul by seeking truth in the light and Catholic culture. They go far beyond
of faith. the usual meaning of the term “liberal arts.”
But for too long Catholics have been They communicate great cultural values in
sending their sons and daughters, nieces and an exceptional manner. Others are more typi-
nephews, grandsons and granddaughters to cal broad-based colleges and universities, but
Catholic colleges that sell themselves as offer- again, when it comes to religious and cultural
ing a Catholic experience, but for all intents values, they are clearly dedicated to what is
and purposes what they are actually doing is meant by a Catholic education.
very much secular. I am impressed when I see colleges that
As we say in Brooklyn, the devil is in the reflect their Catholic identity in every aspect
details. of their campus life. It is truly heartening to
This is why I see this devo-
used to tell parents tion to the Lord,
that they would be I now tell parents that they which is in so
better off sending many ways coun-
their children to should send their children to tercultural.
secular colleges that Some of the
one of the growing number of
have a good Catho- colleges profiled
lic campus ministry authentic and faithful Catholic here are quite
rather than risk ex- sma l l—i n st it u-
posing them to dis- colleges, those recommended in this tions whose pur-
sent and the kind pose is unabash-
of debauchery that book, which will provide a student edly to help form
occurs on too many young Catholic
Catholic campuses with a true Catholic education. men and women.
these days. They emphasize
But my ad- the riches of the
vice to them has remarkable Cath-
changed over the years. olic intellectual tradition. And they provide
I now tell parents that they should send the spiritual nourishment for which many
their children to one of the growing number students hunger and most need.
of authentic and faithful Catholic colleges, A few of the colleges are brand new. They
those recommended in this book, which will are hoping to add their voice as a second gen-
provide a student with a true Catholic educa- eration of orthodox Catholic colleges born af-
tion. You can’t get anything close to this kind ter the tumult in Catholic higher education in
of education at a state university. the 1960s. These new colleges stand unabash-
You will also not find the degree of moral edly with Pope Benedict and the Church.
decadence that pervades our culture at these I also am excited about some of the older
institutions. institutions we recommend in these pages—
On the contrary, if you were to visit them, institutions that are navigating the shoals of
you would be surprised by the large number modernism and embracing the Catholic faith.
of students who voluntarily attend daily Mass We are indebted to these colleges that are bat-

18 The Newman Guide


tling outside pressures—including financial
challenges and the allure of secular pres-
tige—to adhere to their historical identity.
To be sure, all of the institutions recom-
mended in this book share a similar commit-
ment to strong Catholic identity, but just as all
of us as individuals are on various points on
our journey toward Christ, so too are each of
these colleges.
In other words, though all of these col-
leges are faithful, they are not all the same.
While I can confidently recommend each of
them generally, parents and students should
be sure to investigate each campus closely so
that they can be confident that there is a good
match in terms of academics, student life and
spirituality.
There is a Christian way to teach any-
thing, Chesterton said. He mentioned that
even if you teach the alphabet and you do it
in such a way that those who learn it do not
despise those who do not know it, you have
taught it in a Christian way. How important it
is for every student to want to bring his or her
The Newman Guide
Foreword
life in agreement with the Gospel and the sav-
ing message of Our Lord Jesus Christ. There
is no other purpose ultimately to life.
What we do in the following of Christ is
what we will bring with us through the doors
of death at the end of life. Nothing else will
come with us. A faithful educational institu-
tion is going to prepare people not only for
the immediate future of job and career but
also for the ultimate future, which is our en-
trance into the Kingdom of God. A college
that does not have this as its top priority does
not deserve to call itself Catholic. In this Guide
you will learn about colleges that understand
their responsibility and wholeheartedly em-
brace it.
I am proud to be the chairman of The
Cardinal Newman Society’s national advi-
sory board, and I am equally proud to recom-
mend so many wonderful Catholic colleges
and universities to you. Please spread the
word to your family and friends about the tre-
mendous opportunities for authentic Catholic
education available to our youth.
19