Jesus Denied Admission

In the United States, close to a million students attend 221 colleges and universities that call themselves Catholic. But on many, perhaps most, of these campuses, the Body of Christ is on life support. Church Militant's Kristine Christlieb probes the weakening presence of Jesus at Catholic colleges.

A recent St. Norbert College graduate: "I take my faith very seriously, and coming onto campus I really wanted that ... [but] St. Norbert didn't really help me learn about my faith."

Parents are spending $42,000 a year to send their children to St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, for a Catholic education.

Students of faith who enter Catholic colleges like St. Norbert not only find those values undermined but openly challenged. 

Aarika Esslinger, president of College Republicans, St. Norbert College: "My theological foundations class, one day he just said, 'Let's talk about politics,' randomly and called me out and asked me some questions."

The St. Norbert College LGBTQ+ Spectrum Alliance launched a Facebook page in 2017 offering information and "support." Now, the student organization hosts an annual drag show.

The school's leadership also allows high-visibility, non-Catholic, partisan speakers to address its captive audience of young people.

Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton and Gloria Steinem have all been given the microphone at St. Norbert.  

You can even find Steinem's lecture posted on St. Norbert's website.

To be fair, Feminists for Life spokesperson Serrin Foster also was invited to campus, but sources tell Church Militant her visit was poorly promoted and her lecture is not posted on the website.

Not all Catholic institutions of higher education have succumbed to secular influences. A good source of information about authentic Catholic colleges is the Newman Guide. Check it out!