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Twilight of the Universities

SACRIFICING STUDENTS ON THE ALTAR OF IDEOLOGY

Caitlin Smith Gilson

Education steeped in transcendental Beauty and the Great Books of history is replaced by a dictatorial ugliness that flattens the passions and rids the heart of love.

From the Narthex

In this special section, which runs as an occasional feature, we present samples of the offerings in the Narthex, the NOR’s online blog.

What “Old Books” Have to Teach Us About Being Human in the 21st Century

LITERATURE MATTERS

Michael S. Rose

Although we have more books available to us than at any time in history, fewer and fewer of us read great literature, distracted as we are by screens.

Fr. Ted’s Big Trade

Michael V. McIntire

Hesburgh departed from the idea of creating a distinctive institution in the Catholic intellectual tradition, settling instead for making it more American and worldly.

A See of the Second-Rate

GUEST COLUMN

Craig F. Montesano

The norm among the men who wear miters — men who are supposed to possess powers of discernment — appears to be gaffes, ill judgment, and an apparent blindness to reason.

The New Hate Speech: Catholic Teaching at a Catholic College

An affirmation of Church teaching at Providence College is seen by students and administrators as an act of "homophobia" and "transphobia" that warrants intimidation and threats because it's an offense against the PC narrative.

The Old Days: Were They Really That Good?

ON "BEING CATHOLIC" IN TWO DIFFERENT DISPENSATIONS

John Lyon

The principal difference between "these times" and "the good old days" lies, for Catholics as well as others, in the breakdown, redefinition, and dissipation of families.

The New Tower of Babel

SOLDIERS FOR THE BRAVE NEW WORLD ORDER

John Martin

Washington let it be known that if the states would but ask to be enrolled in the Common Core plan, billions of dollars in stimulus money would be theirs.

Why We Need a New Model of Catholic Higher Education

GERMINATING IN THE WEEDS OF IDEOLOGICAL SECULARISM

Michael B. Ewbank

Young Christian faithful need to engage with the contemporary world while pursuing their chosen life's work.

Catechesis & the Average Catholic

The average American Catholic is a 48-year-old woman married to a Catholic spouse with whom she has two children. She attends Mass at least once a month, puts $10 in the collection, and is not very active in her parish.

On the Fundamental Evil of Fragmentation

DIGGING OUT OF THE DUNGEON OF SELF

Edmund B. Miller

A saint is one who sees, who sees his relationship not only to family members, classmates, and business associates but to the entire Mystical Body.

Why Support Catholic Schools?

A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER ASKS…

W. Patrick Cunningham

Catholic schools embrace a mission that is illegal in public schools: the embodiment of Jesus Christ in the faculty, staff, students, and their parents.

Where Have All the Students Gone?

Media coverage of Catholic school closings in city after city raises a certain question that isn't asked, and that few can even imagine asking.

The Great Catholic Science Textbook Debate

CAN SCIENCE & PHILOSOPHY BE SEPARATED?

Murray S. Daw

Any approach to teaching science must begin with certain attitudes and assumptions about the nature of the world around us.

Catholic Education for Children of Same-Sex Couples?

GUEST COLUMN

Gail Besse

Archbishop Chaput says if parents "live in a manner that openly rejects" Catholic beliefs, "then partnering with those parents becomes very difficult, if not impossible."

Quo Vadis, Catholic Higher Education?

A CONVERSATION RENEWED

Anne Hendershott

Students, a new cohort of faithful faculty members, and orthodox bishops are beginning to pay more attention to what is happening on Catholic campuses.

Moving Beyond the 'Yellow Armadillo'

While many Church officials and patrons are still intent on erecting ugly novelty churches, some architects are taking a different approach.

A Question of Conviction

When sacrilegious art -- like a painting depicting the Virgin Mary wearing a G-string -- appears on a Catholic campus, what should be the proper response?

Teacher Preparation in Catholic Colleges

MISSING THE BOAT

Kenneth M. Weinig

Given the public-school debacle, one would think that education departments in Catholic colleges would sprint in an opposite philosophical direction.

What's Wrong With Religious Education...

...AND HOW TO FIX IT

Michael McBride

We need an overall increase in knowledge of the Catholic religion among all age groups in each diocese, in particular as concerns the sacraments.

Dad, How Do You Say 'Video' in Latin?

LEARN LATIN & LEARN MORE OF EVERYTHING

Silvano Borruso

Method more than content was the real drawback in the teaching of Latin and Greek before they were "squeezed out of the curriculum."

Beware of Thomas Groome or Anything Associated With Him

SHARED CHRISTIAN GOBBLEDYGOOK

Stacey Johnson

Groome seemed well-respected in catechetical and episcopal circles, and his books were rubber-stamped by a committee at the USCCB.

Raising Religious & Moral Standards for Catholic High School Students

YES, IT IS POSSIBLE TO FAIL A RELIGION CLASS

Jason T. Adams

The typical student in religion class today has never been required to think deeply about the more complicated or abstract concepts of Catholicism.

Protecting Our Children from Catholic Schools

YES, REALLY!

Charles James

Parents expect a faithful presentation of the Catholic faith, but they actually get dissent and the unexamined clichés of the social "gospel" and pop "spirituality."

Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning

ADVANCING CLASSICAL EDUCATION AT MERCY ACADEMY

Darrell Dobbs

Classical education fosters the patient acquisition of the perennial arts of learning rather than the rapid accumulation of 'relevant' knowledge.

The Art of True Education

THE SOIL MUST BE RICH

Robert K. Carlson

He who is nurtured in an educational environment in which the true, the good, and the beautiful are rightly cultivated will, Plato argues, 'become noble and good' and 'salute' reason.

Conformed to the World?

Even the brightest graduates of diocesan Catholic schools are idiots.

What's Your Score on the S.A.T. (Salvation Aptitude Test)?

IF A LITTLE LEARNING IS DANGEROUS, HOW DANGEROUS IS NONE?

Noel J. Augustyn

If this exam seems easy, you might want to try it out on your local Catholic-school eighth-grader or high-schooler.

No Premarital Sex? It's News to Catholic Students

DON'T DO THAT THING IF YOU AIN'T GOT THAT RING

Christopher Kaczor

In a place where young minds are supposed to be in training, the bodies are apparently active and the minds are apparently unengaged.

"Ed Speak" Invades Catholic Schools

AD MAJOREM MUNDI GLORIAM

Ellen Chris Fanizzi

State licensing and certification lend legitimacy to “experts” but, as the Teacher from Nazareth remarked, by their fruits ye shall know them.

A Catholic Alternative to Decadent Colleges

ON THE TRANSMISSION OF CULTURE & CIVILIZATION

Mitchell Kalpakgian

Cynics will object that students at orthodox Catholic colleges become inflexible and excessively dogmatic, but the real intolerance and bigotry occurs everywhere else.

The Tale of a Dead Seminary

HITCHHIKING WITH THE ZEITGEIST

Stanley R. Rudcki

We mistakenly took 'aggiornamento' to mean we must 'catch up with the modern world," instead of its true meaning: the transformation of the world, not the Church.

The Parental Rights in Education: Who Cares?

GUEST COLUMN

Russell Shaw

Saying parents have the primary right to educate their children -- as says Catholic social teaching -- flies in the face of prevailing assumptions to the contrary.