La Salle: A Catholic University?

[big5explorer]

Curious to know what your general thoughts/perceptions are about La Salle as a Catholic University. If you are Catholic, does it seem to be doing a decent job maintaining its identity of a Catholic institution? Has it changed since you attended the school? Did you care much about it while attending, and do you care much as an alum?

Reason I ask is that yesterday a member of the Board of Trustees Tweeted a post with an opinion that directly is in opposition to position of the Catholic Church.

I recognize few Catholics espouse 100% of the views/teachings of the Church. But it gets under my skin that a member of the BOT of a Catholic University would publicly Tweet in opposition to the direct teachings of the Catholic Church.

The two issues I have with this are:

1. The post itself, in direct contrast to Catholic teaching.

2. The lack of restraint from a BOT member in making the post. While this person is entitled to their opinion, they should also recognize their position on the Board, and that perhaps half of the alumni (and donors) may hold different views -- ones more consistent with that of a truly Catholic University. If the University wonders why they don't receive as much $$ in donations as they could, they can look to Tweets like this from a member of their BOT.

[JoeFedorowicz]

Raised Catholic. 17 years of Catholic education. I disagree with more or less every decision made by the ‘political’ faction of the Catholic Church for 20 years. At some point, any benefit that I got from associating with Catholicism didn’t matter anymore.

I’m not alone. Catholics my age aren’t going to church. There are less Catholics being born. Religious influence has been trending downwards since the 80s. If you’re going to staff your board and administration with influential people that you hope will lead the school into the future, you cannot be surprised when they have views that, although they contradict Catholic dogma, are pretty mainstream for 2022. The idea that you want those people to ship up is, in my opinion, harmful but also very ‘Catholic.’

[GlitterBro #2]

I've served on several committees at La Salle that give departmental and alumni awards. The first time, I was surprised at the vetting process for the candidates. There are several sections that look to establish "alignment or conflict with Catholic teachings."

For each candidate, we would get the following info (and the statement after if nothing was found...I'm guessing we didn't get things passed to us where conflict was found):

Philanthropic and Political Support: Nothing found to contradict University or Catholic teachings.
Legal Issues: Nothing found to contradict University or Catholic teachings.
News: Nothing found to contradict University or Catholic teachings.
Verbal Sources: Nothing found to contradict University or Catholic teachings.
Statement by The Cardinal Newman Society: Nothing found to contradict University or Catholic teachings.

Whether a candidate's social media is combed, I'm not aware.

When someone is in a visible position at a Catholic school, I do think that maybe they shouldn't tweet opinions that are in conflict with the Catholic Church, whether they agree or not with the Church. No one is holding a gun to someone's head forcing them to be on the BoT...that position is a choice and comes with responsibilities. If you want the recognition of being in that position, sometimes candor is more appropriate...at least in public posts with no restrictions.

[JoeFedorowicz]

You should make it a thing then. The idea that the thing preventing La Salle from rolling in more donations is the lack of more orthodox Catholics….is quite the concept.

[big5explorer]

Jun 25, 2022 14:52:08 GMT -5 JoeFedorowicz said:

You should make it a thing then. The idea that the thing preventing La Salle from rolling in more donations is the lack of more orthodox Catholics….is quite the concept.

You might be correct, at least for younger alumni. Though, keep in mind, some older, more deep-pocket alums grew up in a much more "Catholic" lifestyle. Latin Mass, fasting, no meat on holy days, regular Confession, etc.

I'm wondering if La Salle is becoming a Catholic University in "name only." Perhaps the Catholics who want a school more closely tied to the teachings of the Church are left only with Catholic University as an option.

[calsufan]

Jun 25, 2022 15:05:01 GMT -5 big5explorer said:

Jun 25, 2022 14:52:08 GMT -5 JoeFedorowicz said:

You should make it a thing then. The idea that the thing preventing La Salle from rolling in more donations is the lack of more orthodox Catholics….is quite the concept.

You might be correct, at least for younger alumni. Though, keep in mind, some older, more deep-pocket alums grew up in a much more "Catholic" lifestyle. Latin Mass, fasting, no meat on holy days, regular Confession, etc.

I'm wondering if La Salle is becoming a Catholic University in "name only." Perhaps the Catholics who want a school more closely tied to the teachings of the Church are left only with Catholic University as an option.

I'm an older "Catholic" that grew up in the Latin Mass, fasting, no meat on Fridays and holy days era. My pockets are deep enough, I suppose. Someone tweeting their own opinion about yesterday's ruling that also happens to be on the board is okay by me. Keep in mind that recent studies have pegged that 56% of Catholics are in favor of what the court ruled against yesterday. I'm much more concerned with the rampant pedophilia that has run through this church than anything else. The hypocrisy of the church in how they handled that and their not owning up to it is was a primary factor of my movement away from the church. That and their ongoing intransigence regarding yesterday's ruling when the clear majority of their followers are against their views.

With that being said, I didn't pick La Salle because it was a Catholic school. I suspect some may have, but my bet would be the majority didn't. I picked La Salle because I liked the school (i.e. the people), the programs that were offered and the fact that it was in the city, close to home and felt like a community. My donations won't change one iota because of yesterday's tweet.

[thelasallelunatic]

Born and raised Catholic. I went to Catholic kindergarten and then to 11 years of public school. Made sacraments and religious education through CCD. I go to mass every Sunday, and sometimes daily mass...though I only take my wife and daughters on Sunday. I will raise my daughters Catholic and try and be the best role model I can be for them.

I did not choose La Salle because it was a Catholic college. Although I applied to ND and St. Joes, Catholic education wasn't a requirement, as I also applied to TCNJ and McDaniel (Western Maryland). I do think if you sit on a BOT or hold an esteemed position at a Catholic University, your personal feelings go out the window and should not be voiced on social media. I also realize that social media gives everyone a platform. However, we don't have real conversations anymore. We talk at each other and over each other. My first day of selling cars, my boss told me that I can be a devout Catholic, but do not put a picture of the Pope or anything else on my desk. He told me that my brother could be running for governor, and I'm not to wear a pin or shirt or tie supporting him. (These are only examples) In sales, your opinions and beliefs can be yours, but you're there to sell, not to say or convey anything that can prevent a sale. So I live by that mantra, right or wrong. My living room, over my brother's house or with my buddies, we get to talking, I'll voice my opinions. Not on social media. Not at work.

Getting back to the Church, the pedophilia scandal is a HUGE deal. Many people left the church and it's going to take an enormous amount of work to undo this gigantic stain. It's not going to effect my relationship with God, but I understand those that left the Church because of this. The Church needs to do more to get my generation and those younger than me back into the Catholicism. I don't know where to start, but it's vital that bridges that were burned get rebuilt.

[theneumann64]

Born and raised Lutheran (now an atheist), went to La Salle due to small class size and no TA’s, and it seemed like the attitude towards Catholicism when I was there was it was there if you wanted it, but was not forced on you if you didn’t. Never went to a service, don’t know what the inside of the chapel looked like or where exactly it was. Spoke openly in classes taught by brothers about not believing in things like purgatory, sacraments not mentioned in Bible, etc. never was chastised or otherwise told to keep things to myself.

[23won]

Agree with Lun. If you are a leader of a Catholic institution and you make a contradictory statement publicly, that shows a lack of judgment or a lack of true commitment to the institution. Statements about religion and politics are polarizing. Making a SM statement on the topics will have no real impact on the issue wind except for the people who read it who you have P!ssed off who will remember it and question your judgment.

[hykos1045]

I took Brother Mike's class on the various "paradoxes" of a Catholic education in a post 2000 world. We didn't have social media yet, only some rudimentary blogs did exist. Each student picked an area of the university and wrote a report on how it should be influenced by Catholicism (or not) and this would have been a great topic for us to explore further.

Generally I am not a proponent of censorship and I do not tell people how to think. The Catholic identity of the school is probably not jeopardized over a single tweet. But to be sure, could the referenced tweet linked in this thread so that we can judge for ourselves?

[coachd]

The Catholic Church is clear that life begins at conception and that no one has the right to terminate the life of the innocent unborn. There are books written about Natural Law that many ignore; from Conception to Natural Death no one has the right to kill another human except for in times of war where good must prevail over evil. Too many people thought that abortion was healthcare and many millions of humans were never born in the last 50 years. Many call this era the "culture of death" especially when you add in euthanasia. Roe v Wade was a flawed decision from the outset. No one has a "Constitutional Right" to terminate a human life in our country. In fact the United States Declaration of Independence clearly states that we have the Right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Any board member who goes against Catholic teaching has a right to make public statements but the BOT must also hold them accountable and issue punishments up to and including termination from employment or serving the university in any capacity.

[coachd]

Jun 25, 2022 22:57:23 GMT -5 theneumann64 said:

Born and raised Lutheran (now an atheist), went to La Salle due to small class size and no TA’s, and it seemed like the attitude towards Catholicism when I was there was it was there if you wanted it, but was not forced on you if you didn’t. Never went to a service, don’t know what the inside of the chapel looked like or where exactly it was. Spoke openly in classes taught by brothers about not believing in things like purgatory, sacraments not mentioned in Bible, etc. never was chastised or otherwise told to keep things to myself.

But you were not making public statements as an official of the university. Many students made statements in my religion and philosophy classes; the lay teachers and priests would not reprimand but rather would ask questions to make us think why the Church and the Scriptures provided information; sometimes the answer was clear and other times it required deep thought and sometimes it just required faith as no one could fully explain certain things such as the Holy Trinity.

A wise priest, named Father Anthony, once shared a meal with me and my fiancé at the time. He said every Christian was Catholic until the 1500's when a guy name Martin Luther came along. Martin said I agree with the Catholic Church on certain things but not everything so I am going to form my own Lutheran church. He started to have some followers who agreed with him... as time went on though there were members of his congregation who said "You know Martin, there are things I disagree with you on so I am going to start my own church... thus other Protestant churches were formed. This bothered Martin so much that on his death bed he regretted forming his own church.

[MisterD]

I trust you make absolutely zero exceptions for life of the mother, rape, incest, etc.?

[theneumann64]

Why are you responding to a thread from 5 months ago?

[theneumann64]

Nov 2, 2022 12:59:25 GMT -5 coachd said:

Jun 25, 2022 22:57:23 GMT -5 theneumann64 said:

Born and raised Lutheran (now an atheist), went to La Salle due to small class size and no TA’s, and it seemed like the attitude towards Catholicism when I was there was it was there if you wanted it, but was not forced on you if you didn’t. Never went to a service, don’t know what the inside of the chapel looked like or where exactly it was. Spoke openly in classes taught by brothers about not believing in things like purgatory, sacraments not mentioned in Bible, etc. never was chastised or otherwise told to keep things to myself.

But you were not making public statements as an official of the university. Many students made statements in my religion and philosophy classes; the lay teachers and priests would not reprimand but rather would ask questions to make us think why the Church and the Scriptures provided information; sometimes the answer was clear and other times it required deep thought and sometimes it just required faith as no one could fully explain certain things such as the Holy Trinity.

A wise priest, named Father Anthony, once shared a meal with me and my fiancé at the time. He said every Christian was Catholic until the 1500's when a guy name Martin Luther came along. Martin said I agree with the Catholic Church on certain things but not everything so I am going to form my own Lutheran church. He started to have some followers who agreed with him... as time went on though there were members of his congregation who said "You know Martin, there are things I disagree with you on so I am going to start my own church... thus other Protestant churches were formed. This bothered Martin so much that on his death bed he regretted forming his own church.

Also, this pisses whatever residual part of me that still hangs on to my religious upbringing off (in addition to being factually inaccurate because the Eastern Orthodox Church was founded in 1054, not the 1500's). You just told (a probably made up) story that dismisses essentially every form of non-Catholic Christianity as a mistake.

[LaSallePal]

Nov 2, 2022 13:17:30 GMT -5 theneumann64 said:

Also, this pisses whatever residual part of me that still hangs on to my religious upbringing off (in addition to being factually inaccurate because the Eastern Orthodox Church was founded in 1054, not the 1500's). You just told (a probably made up) story that dismisses essentially every form of non-Catholic Christianity as a mistake.

I think that was by design, and would be an uncontroversial opinion among most adherents.

[JoeFedorowicz]

This is an unmoderated forum. But please, for the cognizant group on here, realize who you're replying to here and use caution.

[theneumann64]

Yeah, fair enough. I'm done with it Joe.

[MisterD]

I held back on a really good joke, Joe. You'd be proud.

[coachd]

Nov 2, 2022 13:10:17 GMT -5 MisterD said:

I trust you make absolutely zero exceptions for life of the mother, rape, incest, etc.?

The Catholic Church makes no exceptions as the innocent unborn deserves to be protected at all cost. Catholic women understand that they could die during the birthing process in order to save their baby. Read about Natural Law.

[coachd]

Nov 2, 2022 13:17:30 GMT -5 theneumann64 said:

Nov 2, 2022 12:59:25 GMT -5 coachd said:

But you were not making public statements as an official of the university. Many students made statements in my religion and philosophy classes; the lay teachers and priests would not reprimand but rather would ask questions to make us think why the Church and the Scriptures provided information; sometimes the answer was clear and other times it required deep thought and sometimes it just required faith as no one could fully explain certain things such as the Holy Trinity.

A wise priest, named Father Anthony, once shared a meal with me and my fiancé at the time. He said every Christian was Catholic until the 1500's when a guy name Martin Luther came along. Martin said I agree with the Catholic Church on certain things but not everything so I am going to form my own Lutheran church. He started to have some followers who agreed with him... as time went on though there were members of his congregation who said "You know Martin, there are things I disagree with you on so I am going to start my own church... thus other Protestant churches were formed. This bothered Martin so much that on his death bed he regretted forming his own church.

Also, this pisses whatever residual part of me that still hangs on to my religious upbringing off (in addition to being factually inaccurate because the Eastern Orthodox Church was founded in 1054, not the 1500's). You just told (a probably made up) story that dismisses essentially every form of non-Catholic Christianity as a mistake.

You are correct that there was a East-West Schism... after this schism is what i was referring to concerning the Roman Catholic Church.

[MisterD]

Nov 2, 2022 14:32:56 GMT -5 coachd said:

The Catholic Church makes no exceptions as the innocent unborn deserves to be protected at all cost. Catholic women understand that they could die during the birthing process in order to save their baby. Read about Natural Law.

I'm going to pass on the reading assignment, but would like to clarify that you're agreeing that no exceptions should ever be made.

[coachd]

Nov 2, 2022 15:52:59 GMT -5 MisterD said:

Nov 2, 2022 14:32:56 GMT -5 coachd said:

The Catholic Church makes no exceptions as the innocent unborn deserves to be protected at all cost. Catholic women understand that they could die during the birthing process in order to save their baby. Read about Natural Law.

I'm going to pass on the reading assignment, but would like to clarify that you're agreeing that no exceptions should ever be made.

Yes, I am on the side of the millions of voices who were silenced without ever having a say as to whether they can have a chance to live because of an unscientific and flawed Roe v Wade decision. I would strongly recommend that everyone on this board read about Natural Law so you can understand why so many people are trying to help women either with financial support to raise their baby or with an adoption agency to find a loving home for their baby. God bless all of you of goodwill.

[calsufan]

As a man of goodwill I say piss off with your Natural Law bullshit. And I'm being quite restrained in my response.

[theneumann64]

Nov 18, 2022 9:18:24 GMT -5 calsufan said:

As a man of goodwill I say piss off with your Natural Law bullshit. And I'm being quite restrained in my response.

If it makes you feel any better, I decided to research Natural Light instead. Turns out its "A wonderfully blended and balanced American-style light lager. Fewer calories, lighter body, and always fueling your epic stories."

[MisterD]

I'm just picturing Steve and his chorus of a million of fetuses all ranting as one about biased refereeing.

[coachd]

Not sure why some fear discovering truth and wisdom. None of the Brothers I had teaching me at La Salle ever said "be ignorant and listen to the "philosophy" of left-wing media."

Despite its robust history within Christianity, natural law morality was initially developed by the Greek Stoic philosophers. Their commitment to living reasonably within nature’s designs produced a universally accessible moral theory based upon the ordinary human powers of observation and rational reflection. Christians appropriated natural law reasoning through the premise that observations of creation ought to reveal aspects of God the Creator’s will. In other words, what is natural is what God intends.

Yet some Christian beliefs challenged this union, particularly the Christian teachings that humans are limited and prone to sin. As such our understanding is always partial and likely to be distorted. While human finitude is natural, Christianity claims that sin is “unnatural” in the sense that it is a distortion of our nature and therefore does not point back to the will of God the Creator.

uscatholic.org/articles/201807/what-is-natural-law/#:~:text=Christians%20appropriated%20natural%20law%20reasoning%20through%20the%20premise,that%20humans%20are%20limited%20and%20prone%20to%20sin.

[JoeFedorowicz]

uscatholic.org/articles/201410/the-church-might-be-approaching-natural-law-the-wrong-way/

[calsufan]

Nov 25, 2022 14:00:15 GMT -5 coachd said:

Not sure why some fear discovering truth and wisdom. None of the Brothers I had teaching me at La Salle ever said "be ignorant and listen to the "philosophy" of left-wing media."

Despite its robust history within Christianity, natural law morality was initially developed by the Greek Stoic philosophers. Their commitment to living reasonably within nature’s designs produced a universally accessible moral theory based upon the ordinary human powers of observation and rational reflection. Christians appropriated natural law reasoning through the premise that observations of creation ought to reveal aspects of God the Creator’s will. In other words, what is natural is what God intends.

Yet some Christian beliefs challenged this union, particularly the Christian teachings that humans are limited and prone to sin. As such our understanding is always partial and likely to be distorted. While human finitude is natural, Christianity claims that sin is “unnatural” in the sense that it is a distortion of our nature and therefore does not point back to the will of God the Creator.

uscatholic.org/articles/201807/what-is-natural-law/#:~:text=Christians%20appropriated%20natural%20law%20reasoning%20through%20the%20premise,that%20humans%20are%20limited%20and%20prone%20to%20sin.

Truth and wisdom is not emanating from you or any of your off-kilter ideals.

[coachd]

Nov 25, 2022 17:01:32 GMT -5 JoeFedorowicz said:

uscatholic.org/articles/201410/the-church-might-be-approaching-natural-law-the-wrong-way/

But the author doesn't acknowledge that the Church did a poor job of screening out openly gay men from being priests in the 1960's and 1970's which led to the majority of the abuses of minors by priests. Nor does he present solutions such as adoption instead of abortion for those who cannot support the child financially or for other reasons.

My point is those who support abortion should agree that abortions should be very rare and not a form of birth control; and tax dollars should not be used for abortions. I encourage all my Catholic brothers and sisters to support pro-life organizations especially those who help pregnant women who have been rejected by their husbands or boyfriends. These homes help them start new careers so they can support themselves and their child. Here is one example... njrtl.org/tag/pro-life-maternity-homes/