Because of the popularity of our college guide and our special colleges and universities issue in September, we have added a second issue with an emphasis on higher education.

On page one of this issue, you’ll find a story about guides to Catholic universities that focus on questions of Catholic identity. The Register’s own “Catholic Identity College Guide” is online at NCRegister.com. Just click the “Resources” tab to find it. We redesigned the Web version to make it easier to use.

Readers appreciate our guide because it provides objective information about the Catholic identity of a school.

With direct input from bishops (both here and in the Vatican), universities and parents, we created 10 questions based on guidelines the Church has provided — in canon law, papal documents and U.S. bishops’ documents. We posed these questions to Catholic universities. For each school that responded, we provide a box checking off which aspects of Catholic Identity they report compliance with.

As good as the guide is, it doesn’t provide a full picture of life at the school, but only focuses on objective questions of Catholic identity. For a fuller picture, we ask that readers look at the advertisements these schools provide in the Register. The other guides recommended in our story also provide additional information.

There is much else to enjoy in this issue — an impressive mini-biography of Henry Hyde, a list of “war on Christmas” combatants, and, above all, analysis of the new encyclical from Pope Benedict XVI. Enjoy!