Catholic Identity College Guide 2007-08
National Catholic Register college guide is made possible by the cooperation of bishops, college presidents, our benefactors, and our advertisers. This year, 26 schools, more than 10% of all American Catholic universitites, went on record in answer to our Catholic identity survey.
Below find:
How to participate
The Survey
Survey Sources
The Schools
1. Aquinas College
4210 Harding Road
Nashville, TN 37205
(800) 649-9956
AquinasCollege.edu
Enrollment: 850
2. Ave Maria University
1025 Commons Circle
Naples, FL 34119
(239) 280-2500;
(877) AVE-UNIV (283-8648)
AveMaria.edu
Enrollment: 368
3. The Augustine Institute
P.O. Box 1126
3001 South Federal Blvd.
Denver, CO 80236
(303) 937-4420
AugustineInstitute.org
Enrollment: 70 (graduate only)
School’s comments:
Dorms: “Current dorms are constructed as ‘motel suites’ with all suite doors opening to the outdoors. Sexes are separated by floor, with women on only the upper floors for their security and to limit access. Single-sex dorms will be built as a part of a building plan to begin in the near future.”
5. Benedictine College
1020 North Second St.
Atchison, KS 66002
(913) 367-5340
Benedictine.edu
Enrollment: 1,229
School’s comments:
President: “The president vowed to up-hold the Catholic mission of the college in the presence of the local bishop during his inauguration; he is currently in correspondence with the bishop to ensure that he has appropriately fulfilled the canon law requirements.”
Oath: “We have made arrangements with the local bishop to receive the oath of fidelity from our theology faculty.”
Dorms: “We have a single-sex housing philosophy that intentionally promotes a theology of the body based on Christian anthropology. One hall has both men and women in it, but they are separated by floor with a sophisticated security system that prevents intermingling between floors past visitation hours.”
6. The Catholic Distance University
120 East Colonial Highway
Hamilton, VA 20158-9012
(888) 254-4238, ext. 700
CDU.edu
Enrollment: 1,700
School’s comments:
Mandatum & Oath: “As an online university, our faculty is all adjunct. They do not take an oath of fidelity, but every staff member is approved by our president, who is the local bishop.”
Campus: “CDU is an online university.”
7. The Catholic University of America
620 Michigan Ave., NE
Washington, DC 20064
(202) 319-5000
CUA.edu
Enrollment: 6,148
School’s comments:
Mandatum: “Catholic theologians must receive a ‘canonical mission’ from the local bishop/chancellor that obliges them to ‘teach in the name of the Church’ — it is different from the mandatum. They must receive a nihil obstat from the U.S. bishops on the board and from the Holy See before they can be tenured.”
Oath: “The Catholic faculty recite the profession of faith in the presence of and along with the local bishop/chancellor and president at the opening Mass of each academic year. Catholic faculty have not been required to take the oath of fidelity because of canonical mission/nihil obstat.”
Dorms: “We have both single-sex residence halls as well as residence halls with floors segregated by gender.”
8. Christendom College
134 Christendom Drive
Front Royal, VA 22630
(540) 636-2900
Christendom.edu
Enrollment: 400
9. The College of Saint Thomas More
3020 Lubbock Ave.
Fort Worth, TX 76109
(800) 583-6489
CSTM.edu
Enrollment: 38
10. DeSales University
2755 Station Ave.
Center Valley, PA 18034
(877) 4DESALES
DeSales.edu
Enrollment: 2,300
(1,450 undergraduates)
School’s comments:
Mandatum: “The university did not publicly require that all theology professors have the mandatum; they chose to do so on their own.”
Dorms: “Our residence halls and townhouse complex areas are of two varieties: single-sex and gender-segregated by wing of the building, considered co-institutional. All campus residence areas are governed by a visitation policy.”
11. Franciscan University of Steubenville
1235 University Blvd.
Steubenville, OH 43952
(800) 783-6220
Franciscan.edu
Enrollment: 2,400
12. Holy Apostles College and Seminary
33 Prospect Hill Road
Cromwell, CT 06416-2005
(860) 632-3010
HolyApostles.edu
Enrollment: 290
13. Institute for the Psychological Sciences
2001 Jefferson Davis Highway,
Suite 511
Arlington, VA 22202
(703) 416-1441
IPSciences.edu
Enrollment: 42 (graduate only)
14. John Paul the Great Catholic University
10174 Old Grove Road,
Suite 200
San Diego, CA 92131
(858) 653-6740
JPCatholic.com
Enrollment: 30
15. Magdalen College
511 Kearsarge Mountain Road
Warner, NH 03278
(603) 456-2656
Magdalen.edu
Enrollment: 70
16. Our Lady of Corpus Christi
1200 Lantana St.
Corpus Christi, TX 78407
(361) 289-9095
COLCC.com
Enrollment: 35
School’s comments:
Mandatum: “The local bishop does not require a mandatum; if he did we would require it.”
Oath: “The oath of fidelity will be made mandatory in fall 2007.”
17. St. Gregory’s University
1900 W. MacArthur St.
Shawnee, OK 74804-2499
(888) STGREGS
StGregorys.edu
Enrollment: 700
School’s comments:
Oath: “The local bishop has conferred the mandatum through an interview with proposed faculty members, conducted either by the bishop personally or by his appointed vicar general.”
18. Saint Joseph’s College of Maine
278 Whites Bridge Road
Standish, ME 04084
(800) 338-7057
SJCME.edu
Enrollment: 1,000
School’s comments:
Faculty: “Most non-Catholics like our mission, love teaching at a college that stands for something, and hold our mission in the deepest respect. A couple have become Catholic here.”
Dorms: “We have freshman dorms exclusively for women and for men. The other three years students are housed in the same buildings, but on different floors.”
19. Southern Catholic College
330 Southern Catholic Drive
Dawsonville, GA 30534
(866) 722-2003
SouthernCatholic.org
Enrollment: 130
20. Thomas Aquinas College
10,000 North Ojai Road
Santa Paula, CA 93060
(800) 634-9797
ThomasAquinas.edu
Enrollment: 351
School’s comments:
Mandatum: “The mandatum is not available in this diocese to our professors.”
21. The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
6 Manchester St.
Merrimack, NH 03054
(800) 880-8308
ThomasMoreCollege.edu
Enrollment: 94
22. University of Dallas
1845 East Northgate Drive
Irving, TX 75062
(972) 721-5203
UDallas.edu
Enrollment: 2,978
School’s comments:
President: “The president is prepared to make the profession of faith at any time. The oath is not required and has not been requested by the local bishop.”
Mandatum: “The mandatum is a personal, not an institutional, requirement. To the president’s knowledge, all Catholic theologians at UD hold the mandatum.”
Oath: “Canon law calls for a profession of faith, not the oath of fidelity.”
23. University of Sacramento
1531 I St., 2nd Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 443-4760
UniversityofSacramento.org
Enrollment: about 80 (graduate only)
24. University of St. Thomas
3800 Montrose Blvd.
Houston, TX 77006
(713) 525-2160
StThom.edu
Enrollment: 3,607
25. Walsh University
2020 East Maple St. N.W.
North Canton, OH 44720
(800) 362-9846
Walsh.edu
Enrollment: 2,510
(1,750 undergraduates full-time)
School’s Comments:
Dorms: “Some dorms are completely single-sex. Some dorms have single-sex wings and/or floors. Some residence halls are four-person apartments that are single-sex. As traditional residence halls are replaced with new housing configurations, it is very difficult to merely answer Yes or No.”
26. Wyoming Catholic College
163 Leedy Drive
P.O. Box 750
Lander, WY 82520
(877) 332-2930
WyomingCatholicCollege.com
Current Enrollment: 32, beginning 2007
How to Participate in the Guide
To be added to our list of Catholic colleges and universities, a school must answer the survey questionnaire. N/A (not applicable) answers must be explained. If so desired, No answers may also be explained. (See The Guide for examples of explanations.) Send answers to:
Robyn Lee
Register College Survey
432 Washington Ave
North Haven, CT 06473
RLee at NCRegister.com
Fax: 203 230 3838
The Survey
Questionnaire Sources
The Catholic Identity College Survey offers objective questions about a university’s Catholic identity. We designed the survey so that a “YES” answer reflects essential elements of the renewal of Catholic identity called for by Pope John Paul II’s 1990 apostolic constitution on higher education, Ex Corde Ecclesiae (Out of the Heart of the Church), its 2000 Application to the United States, canon law and other Church documents.
The Institution
President: Canon 833: The president of a Catholic university is personally bound to make a profession of faith, according to the formula approved by the Apostolic See, in the presence of the chancellor or diocesan bishop or a delegate at the beginning of the term of office.
The Profession of Faith and the Oath of Fidelity, Acta Apostolicae Sedis 1989: The obligation of a special oath of fidelity has been extended to presidents of Catholic universities.
Board: U.S. Application: “To the extent possible, the majority of the board of trustees should be Catholics committed to the Church.”
Faculty: U.S. Application: “The university should strive to recruit and appoint Catholics as professors so that, to the extent possible, those committed to the witness of the faith will constitute a majority of the faculty.”
The Mandatum: Canon 812: It is necessary that Catholic theologians have a mandatum from the diocesan bishop.
Pope John Paul II (to American bishops, 2004): “By their very nature, Catholic colleges and universities are called to offer an institutional witness of fidelity to Christ and to his word as it comes to us from the Church, a public witness expressed in the canonical requirement of the mandatum.
U.S. Application: “Catholic students have a right to receive from a university instruction in authentic Catholic doctrine and practice, especially from theologians.”
Mandatum text: “I hereby declare my role and responsibility as a teacher of a theological discipline within the full communion of the Church. As a teacher of a theological discipline, therefore, I am committed to teach authentic Catholic doctrine and to refrain from putting forth as Catholic teaching anything contrary to the Church’s magisterium.”
U.S. Application: “If a particular professor lacks a mandatum and continues to teach a theological discipline, the university must determine what further action may be taken in accordance with its own mission and statutes.”
Theologians: Canon 833: Catholic theologians are personally bound to make a profession of faith, according to the formula approved by the Apostolic See, in the presence of the university president if he is a priest, or the diocesan bishop or a delegate, at the beginning of their term of office.
The Profession of Faith and the Oath of Fidelity, Acta Apostolicae Sedis 1989: The obligation of a special oath of fidelity has been extended to Catholic theology professors.
Campus Culture
Ministry: U.S. Application: “Catholic students have a right to be provided with opportunities to practice the faith through participation in Mass, the sacraments, religious devotions, and other authentic forms of Catholic spirituality.” The university “shall make provision for effective campus ministry programs, including the celebration of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and penance, other liturgical celebrations, and opportunities for prayer and spiritual reflection.”
Honorees: The U.S. Bishops’ 2004 Catholics in Political Life: “Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors, or platforms that would suggest support for their actions.”
Groups: U.S. Application: “It is important for Catholic universities to implement in practical terms their commitment to the essential elements of Catholic identity, including activities of officially recognized student and faculty organizations and associations.”
Dorms: U.S. Application: “It is important for Catholic universities to implement in practical terms their commitment to the essential elements of Catholic identity, including the commitment to create a campus culture and environment that is expressive and supportive of a Catholic way of life.”
Health: U.S. Application: “It is important for Catholic universities to implement in practical terms their commitment to the essential elements of Catholic identity, including the commitment to provide health care in conformity with the Church’s ethical and religious teaching and directives.”
- Keywords:
- September 23-29, 2007