Author and apologist, G.K. Chesterton, once said, "I believe in getting into hot water; it keeps you clean." In that great tradition of Chesterton and other rabble-rousers, I am going to jump into that very same pot of water. I want to talk about USD, its administration and our supposedly "Catholic" character.
Last week, The Vista ran a number of articles discussing free speech, or lack thereof, on campus. You read how Associated Students was so quick to sign away our rights at the drop of the administration's hat. You also read about The Vista's "censor," who keeps it in line with the university's mission of fostering a "Catholic" identity. But, as many might attest, USD is no Catholic institution. There are certain obvious externalities: daily Mass, crosses in classrooms and so forth. But, a habit does not make a nun. And, while we do have faith groups and a pro-life movement, most would agree that life on this campus is hardly angelic or holy.
USD is not unique in this respect. Last year, the Cardinal Newman Society's Center for the Study of Catholic Higher Education found that the majority of students at Catholic universities rejected key tenets of the faith, both on moral and doctrinal issues. A majority felt that attending a Catholic school had little impact on their spiritual life or their observance of Catholicism. Half admitted sexual activity outside marriage. This "crisis of faith" prompted Pope Benedict XVI to gather America's Catholic college presidents last year. He expressed a desire for the Catholic faith to once more permeate all aspects of campus life.
But, what does this mean? In responding to the call of the Holy Father, how is a school to foster a culture of faith? It is not easy, but one thing is sure; censorship and heavy-handed tactics against the student body are not the answer. The actions undertaken by USD in monitoring The Vista, and proposing their recent policy on "spontaneous" assembly, reflect a deep-rooted hypocrisy. As a devout Catholic, I will be the first to express concern over the lack of Catholic culture at USD.
We are certainly not Christendom College, but neither are we some atrociously liberal school blatantly in defiance of the Church. Rather, we are roughish, subverting the faith while maintaining a veneer of Catholicism to keep donors, alumni and parents complacent.
The administration is the most culpable for the deplorable spiritual health of our university. They need to rediscover what it means to be a Catholic. Consider the extremely progressive liturgy in Founder's Chapel, which violates many liturgical rubrics. Reflect on the "Interfaith" Service in the Immaculata, when foreign prayers are chanted on a Catholic altar. Think about the Rainbow Educators. They are not a student club, which would be entirely acceptable. Instead, they are a university-organized machine, incorporating faculty and staff in the promotion of a lifestyle entirely opposed to Catholic morality.
Finally, take a look at the faculty, especially in the Theology Department, which has often been criticized as a haven for dissidents. Anybody hear of Dr. Elizabeth Jane Via? She finally had to leave USD after she became a "womanpriest." She did not decide one day to be a priestess; she likely espoused such views in the classroom.
In my own experience, I have witnessed tenured faculty, clergy no less, confuse and manipulate the minds of students to pervert their understanding of the faith. Critical scrutiny, or academic exploration, and Church-bashing are two very different things.
It all makes me think of Bishop Fulton Sheen, who said it would be better to go to a public school and learn to defend the faith, than to go to a modern Catholic one to lose it. If USD wants to be secular, I have no problem with that, having experienced 12 years of California public education. But, who ever heard of a cafeteria Catholic university?
So, what should we make of all this? Admit it: USD is not Catholic. It is, for the most part, a facade composed of what Karl Rahner might call the categorical: ritual and movement, but no Spirit. Our administration, hoping to pass itself off as loyal to the hierarchy, seeks to impose a Catholic identity on an ambivalent campus.
They do this while failing to recognize their own emptiness, hypocrisy and futility. Dr. Lyons and her administration need to rediscover what it means "to be Catholic." They need to maintain a Catholic faculty, while respecting academic freedom of expression. They need to drop false notions of diversity and inclusion. They need to keep alive a curriculum that celebrates the great traditions of the West, and holds them in pride, while allowing for exploration into the foreign. Finally, they need to promote a liturgical life faithful to tradition.
If USD is to be Catholic, the administration must foster an atmosphere amicable to that identity. It does not exist now. And it will not be achieved through brutal authoritarian tactics. As Pope John Paul II said, it is "not by fear or violence but by the urgency of genuine love, [that we] must learn to build, brick by brick, the city of God…"
