Is Saint Mary's really Catholic? Hardly
Scott Cullinane
Issue date: 5/12/09 Section: Opinion
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Saint Mary's College has many strengths, but also faces challenges and it is on these challenges that I write. From my four years at Saint Mary's and continuous interaction with the different offices of the College, this is what I have observed.
Saint Mary's seems to be a Catholic school in name only. The general tone that is exuded by the College is that they are ashamed of being Catholic. Admissions Office downplay the College's Catholicism, making sure to mention that the College does not force people go to Mass. Why not be proud of our religiosity and the benefits of our Catholic values? Knowledge of Catholic history or even of our patron saint is not overtly extolled anywhere on campus, except perhaps in the Philosophy Department (for which it is shunned).
No Catholic intellectual speaker has found a voice on campus, yet violent men like Bill Ayers who hold the opposite values are welcomed and given legitimacy. Futhermore, De La Salle week is an excuse for a barbecue, but I would bet the vast majority of this years' graduating class are not able to cite a single fact related to the life or works of Saint John Baptist de La Salle.
The barbecue and other fun activities are needed, but they cannot be all there is. We, as students, need to be taught about our patron saint because from that information comes meaning. This meaning will then engender pride in the student body since the students will realize how special Saint Mary's is and that will led them to become more involved.
Saint Mary's Catholic culture has been replaced by a politically liberal bureaucracy that seeks to insert political correctness into all things under the ruse of "diversity." This has led to conservatives on campus becoming marginalized to the point where they must hide their true beliefs, saying and writing what is expected, not what they think is true. Classical liberal and academic values of free expression and exchange of ideas does not currently exist on some parts of campus because of fear of discrimination and backlash.
Lastly, the recent push for more "diversity" has lead to a further erosion of Catholic morality on campus. Politically correct "diversity" means that nothing is better than anything else, it is just different. So Catholic thought or judgement becomes wrong because it is inherently discriminatory since it values certain things above others. The effect of this is that murderous, anti-Christian men like Che Guevara have their portraits put up by the College in the same room as a portrayal of Jesus. There seems to be a lack an institutional willingness to holdfast to Catholic values in the face of political correctness.
To rebuild the presence of Catholic values, teachings and practices in the College will take a major shift. Even though not everyone at Saint Mary's is Catholic, Catholic history and teachings are still valuable. I hope that the College grows to overtly embrace its religious nature, I bet the College will gain more supporters than it will lose by doing this. I will not be here to see it, but I will pray for the very best.