Christ-Centered Success

THE BOSTON GLOBE, Nov. 14 — “Intentionally Christ-centered colleges and universities are thriving,” according to the Boston daily, and “the numbers are dramatic.”

Enrollment surged 70.6% from 1990 to 2004 at the 102 Protestant and largely evangelical members of the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities.

That compares with 28% for all independent four-year schools, and 12.8% for all public, four-year campuses, according to data from the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

Within this breakdown, all Catholic colleges form part of the larger but-less-religiously robust grouping of colleges with discernable religious affiliation, showing a 27.5% enrollment increase over 1990-2004 period.

Rector Resigns

NEWSDAY, Nov. 16 — Msgr. Francis Schneider, 49, rector of Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington, N.Y., has abruptly resigned, “stunning faculty and students,” reported the Long Island daily.

The major seminary of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, the institution also serves the Diocese of Brooklyn.

“The timing surprised some faculty members — coming a few weeks after a Vatican-ordered evaluation of the seminary,” said Newsday.

A diocesan spokesman said the move was requested by Msgr. Schneider for “personal reasons,” and that there was no connection to the visitation of American seminaries.

Orthodox ‘Healing’

THE DAILY NEWS, Nov. 11 — Archbishop Demetrios, primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, recently received an honorary doctorate from Sacred Heart University in Bridgeport, Conn., the New York daily reported.

Columnist George Bell noted that such occasions are a sign of the healing that has taken place between Catholics and Orthodox since Vatican II. There are so many such signs, said Bell, that Archbishop Demetrios, 77, “does not receive an honorary degree every time he visits a Catholic university — it just seems that way.”

So far, said the columnist, Fordham, Seton Hall, Notre Dame, New York's St. John's and six other Catholic colleges have proclaimed the archbishop an honorary doctor.

Responsible Speech

THE BEACON, Nov. 15 — Pope John XXIII Regional High School in Sparta, N.J., has banned Internet blogging in the school and at the students’ homes, “to comply with the [diocesan] policy of protecting God's children,” reported the newspaper of the Diocese of Paterson.

Some media coverage of the ban has focused on legal experts’ opinions about whether the students were being deprived of their First Amendment rights.

Said Msgr. Kieran McHugh, president of the school, “The intention is … to prevent sexual predators from preying on the students. There's such a thing as responsible and irresponsible free speech.”

Tuition Increase

SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE, Nov. 14 — Holy Cross College in South Bend, Ind., will increase tuition 31.8% next fall as part of an effort to re-position the college as primarily a bachelor's degree institution.

Holy Cross was founded in 1966 as a two-year college but announced in 2003 that it was launching a bachelor's degree program.

Traditionally, many students enroll at Holy Cross hoping to transfer to Notre Dame, which is also located in South Bend. Both institutions are administered by the Holy Cross Fathers and Brothers.