The College Guide

The Register and Faith & Family magazine survey asked objective questions to try to get to find out whether they were doing the sorts of things the Church requires and that parents demand.

The survey, which you'll find on the next page, focused on these areas.

Canon Law requirements

The Church requires:

An oath of fidelity and profession of faith from the president. Canon 833 says “the rector of an ecclesiastical or Catholic university” and “those who in any universities teach subjects which deal with faith or morals … are personally bound to make a profession of faith in the presence of their bishop.”

The Mandatum. Canon 812 reads: “It is necessary that those who teach theological disciplines in any institute of higher studies have a mandatum from the competent ecclesiastical authority.”

Ex Corde Ecclesiae

Pope John Paul II's 1990 Constitution on Higher Education called for:

Majority Catholic faculty. Article 4, No. 4 reads: “In order not to endanger the Catholic identity of the university or institute of higher studies, the number of non-Catholic teachers should not be allowed to constitute a majority within the institution, which is and must remain Catholic.”

Institutional Fidelity. Article 5 teaches:

“Every Catholic University is to maintain communion with the universal Church and the Holy See; it is to be in close communion with the local Church and in particular with the diocesan bishops of the region or nation in which it is located. In ways consistent with its nature as a university, a Catholic university will contribute to the Church's work of evangelization. … Each bishop has a responsibility to promote the welfare of the Catholic universities in his diocese and has the right and duty to watch over the preservation and strengthening of their Catholic character. If problems should arise concerning this Catholic character, the local bishop is to take the initiatives necessary to resolve the matter, working with the competent university authorities in accordance with established procedures and, if necessary, with the help of the Holy See.”

Catholic Campus ministry. Article 6 teaches: “A Catholic university is to promote the pastoral care of all members of the university community, and to be especially attentive to the spiritual development of those who are Catholics. … A sufficient number of qualified people — priests, religious, and lay persons — are to be appointed to provide pastoral ministry for the university community.”