Pope will ‘prune’ weak Catholic institutions

[Lounge Daddy]

[quote][font="Courier"]Archbishop Miller based his prediction on the writings of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. He said the writings indicate that the new Pope believes it is a mistake to uphold institutions that lack a solid Catholic identity.

"[The Pope] argued that it might be better for the Church not to expend its resources trying to preserve institutions if their Catholic identity has been seriously compromised," the archbishop was quoted as saying. "His writings show that a time of purification lies ahead, and this undoubtedly will have some ramifications for Catholic institutions."

Archbishop Miller said the Pope believes the “measure of an institution can be judged by its Catholic integrity."
"Benedict and others may believe that if a Catholic institution is no longer motivated by a Catholic identity, it is better to let it go," he reportedly said.[/font][/quote]

[url="http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=5308"]ARTICLE[/url]

this is awesome...
where would he begin?

[Cow of Shame]

So, besides ND in Indiana, what other institutions are they talking about?

[Lounge Daddy]

Catholics for Free Choice? here in the States?
i hope i hope i hope i hope...

[philothea]

[quote name='Cow of Shame' date='Nov 3 2005, 12:30 AM']So, besides ND in Indiana, what other institutions are they talking about?
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ND was my first thought!

I don't know what else. Unethical hospitals, maybe?

[Guest T-Bone]

VOTF...if any intelectually honest person could even call them "Catholic"...

[morostheos]

awww, don't be so hard on notre dame - there is definitely some good there, and I think their new president might be changing things around a bit - he has made mention of the mandatum.

I can think of plenty of "Catholic" institutions that are really only Catholic in name - they definitely don't have daily Mass in every dorm on campus, or a grotto for Our Lady, or daily Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

[Brother Adam]

They can start with Duequense (sp?) in Pitts. They just punished a student for defending the Churches position on homosexuality.

[StMichael]

Fordham University and basically anything run by Jesuits are going to be deep sixed.

[thessalonian]

St. Catherines here in Minnesota needs to go. It's nothing but a haven for femnists who want to be priests.

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='Brother Adam' date='Nov 3 2005, 09:44 AM']They can start with Duequense (sp?) in Pitts. They just punished a student for defending the Churches position on homosexuality.
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Not exactly.
He used the word subhuman, which is an affront to anyone's dignity.

[annie]

He should go to the source--some of the worst seminaries

[jezic]

there is a seminary visitation going on already.

[1337 k4th0l1x0r]

[quote name='Cow of Shame' date='Nov 3 2005, 12:30 AM']So, besides ND in Indiana, what other institutions are they talking about?
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ND is pretty orthodox when compared to most of the 'Catholic' colleges and universities in the U.S.

They should start with that high school out in California. You know what I'm talking about.

[zabbazooey]

[quote name='StMichael' date='Nov 3 2005, 07:47 AM']Fordham University and basically anything run by Jesuits are going to be deep sixed.
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Excuse me, but there are some great Jesuit schools out there. Creighton University and Creighton Prep are two very good schools....run by JESUITS.

I'm tired of all the people who bash Jesuits who haven't seen the good side of the order.

[cmotherofpirl]

Thats because you never hear of a good Jesuit school, just the bad apples.

[zabbazooey]

I know, it's just grates on my nerves after a while

[Sojourner]

This is all TOTAL speculation. It may not be without foundation on the archbishop's part, but it's not like he's said the pope is actively planning to "prune" weak Catholic institutions, as the title of this thread intimates. It seems more than a little premature to be guessing where such cuts might be made when there's been no official move in that direction AT ALL other than the archbishops educated guess.

[zabbazooey]

Very good point.

[khouse]

I can think of a few schools here in Chicago and DePaul should be somewhere o that list of schools. That school is horrible...

[argent_paladin]

[quote name='zabbazooey' date='Nov 3 2005, 09:56 AM']Excuse me, but there are some great Jesuit schools out there. Creighton University and Creighton Prep are two very good schools....run by JESUITS.

I'm tired of all the people who bash Jesuits who haven't seen the good side of the order.
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Unfortunately, I think that Creighton is more the exception than the rule. I think it is more the fact that it is located in Omaha, Nebraska than the fact that it is Jesuit that it is a very good school. They have a great bishop and the community is very red state and conservative.

Just look at the evidence:
1. The shutdown of the Ignatius Institute by the University of San Francisco.

2. The crucifix controversy and the walk-out by faculty of Arinze at Georgetown.

3. So many problems at Seattle U and Santa Clara.

4. Haven for theological dissent at BC and Loyola.

Honestly, when people say "Jesuit universities" they are talking about Georgetown, Boston College, Gonzaga, Loyola, Fordham, Santa Clara, USF, Marquette, Loyola Marymount and maybe Seattle. They are not talking about Creighton (usually) or for that matter Regis, Rockhurst, Wheeling, etc.

The trend is clear. Jesuit institutions are sacrificing their tradition for academic competitiveness. They are not a sign of contradiction, but go with the culture. That's why Christendom, Ave Maria, Thomas Aquinas, etc were formed. If the 28 Jesuit schools were doing their job, there wouldn't be a market for these new schools.
Now, I would be the first to admit that they do a generally excellent job in high schools, but there aren't actually too many Jesuits who teach there anymore.
You are right that people treat the Js as easy targets and they aren't all bad. But they are in deep trouble and still in denial about it.