Catholic Colleges Have Little Impact on Faith, Values

Catholic Colleges Have Little Impact on Faith, Values
The website – cinops be gone – Thursday, November 13, 2008

Catechesis must return to being, not one opinion among others, but a certainty that draws on the faith of the Church, the contents exceed the common view…. Pope Benedict XVI – Co-Workers of the Truth, Meditations for Every Day, Nov. 12th.

A groundbreaking survey of Catholic college students published by The Cardinal Newman Society’s (CNS) Center for the Study of Catholic Higher Education find that most students on Catholic campuses reject key Catholic moral values and tenets of the faith, and significant numbers engage in pre-marital sexuality and the viewing of pornography. … many commentators are looking for reasons why the Catholic vote broke the way it did in such large numbers for a pro-abortion candidate….

CNS released a report five years ago, drawing on data from 38 Catholic colleges collected by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute. That study found that student’s support for Catholic teaching on abortion, gay marriage, and other issues declined over four years at a Catholic institution.

For the current study, CNS commissioned QEV Analytics, which conducted as analysis of the Catholic vote for Crisis magazine prior to the 2000 presidential election, to conduct the random survey of current and recent students a U.S. Catholic colleges and universities, all between the ages of 18 and 29….

 Key findings clearly demonstrate that large numbers of students at Catholic colleges and universities are in clear conflict with the Catholic Church.
 Nearly 1 in 5 knew another student who had or paid for an abortion.
 46% of current and recent students – and 50% of females – said they engaged in sex outside of marriage.
 84% said they had friends who engaged in premarital sex.
 60% agreed strongly or somewhat that abortion should be legal.
 60% agreed strongly or somewhat that premarital sex is not a sin.
 57% agreed strongly or somewhat that same-sex marriage should be legal.
 57% said the experience of attending a Catholic college or university had no effect on their participation in Mass and the sacrament of reconciliation.
 54% of respondents said that their experience of attending a Catholic college or university had no effect on their support for the teachings of the Catholic Church.
 56% said their experience had no effect on their respect for the Pope and bishops.

In April 2008 Pope Benedict XVI, recognizing the reality on many Catholic campuses, told Catholic college presidents gathered at The Catholic University of America that the Catholic faith must permeate all aspects of Catholic campus life. “Is the faith tangible in our universities and schools?” the Holy Father asked the college presidents. “Only in this way do we really bear witness to the meaning of who we are and what we uphold. From this perspective one can recognize that the contemporary “CRISIS OF TRUTH” IS ROOTED IN A “CRISIS 0F FAITH.” Written by CNSwebsite, Date Posted 11/5/2008

P.S. Here are some more questions: How many students believed in the Eucharistic Presence before and after 4 years? What is the political party affiliation of all the professors? Note that donations of monies to the Democratic Party candidates were often in many Catholic schools up to five times more than to Republican candidates.
George H. Kubeck