| U.S. News

Princeton’s Catholic Club, as it was first known, was started by a group of faculty members and originally staffed by Dominicans. Since the 1950s, the Aquinas Institute has been under the control of the local ordinary in Trenton. Father Tom Mullelly, a jovial diocesan priest affectionately known as “FT” by students, has served as chaplain since 1995.

Founded as a Presbyterian school, Princeton was long the most religiously conservative school in the Ivy League. The great evangelical theologian and preacher Jonathan Edwards (1703-58) served briefly as university president, before dying unexpectedly. In the 19th century, Princeton held tightly to its religious heritage as Harvard and many other colleges shed theirs. Because of its Presbyterian roots, Princeton did not really welcome “papists” until the early years of the 20th century. Today, Catholics make up 20 to 25 percent of the student body, or roughly 1,200 students, and are the largest single religious group on campus.

To many, the significant Catholic presence at elite universities is a cause for celebration – a sign that Catholics truly have arrived. Yet there are reasons for concern. Although these students will be among the nation’s future leaders, their future attachment to the church is far less certain. At most secular colleges, a minority of Catholics practice their faith. Father Mullelly estimates that 30 to 40 percent of Catholic students at Princeton take part in Aquinas activities.

At a time when a thick Catholic subculture has disappeared and most young people know little beyond the basics of the faith, the challenge of religious formation is daunting. Catholic chaplains need to find imaginative ways to entice students into the fold.

In an effort to see how one university is dealing with this challenge, I visited Princeton several times last fall. I also spoke to chaplains at other prestigious private colleges.

Since I graduated from Princeton in 1997, the Aquinas Institute has turned to a more traditional model of ministry. To his credit, Father Mullelly stresses the importance of catechesis and pastoral care. He is especially proud, for example, of bringing a tabernacle with the blessed sacrament to the school’s nondenominational chapel. Given Princeton’s Presbyterian past, establishing such a prominent place for traditional Catholic devotion is seen as a remarkable achievement by some. As might be expected, Father Mullelly shies away from any hint of theological controversy or “dissent.” The chaplaincy will not sponsor speakers who are known to publicly disagree with church teaching. Father Mullelly has also cultivated a relationship with Opus Dei, which operates a residence near campus and is viewed with suspicion by many for the group’s supposed secretiveness and rigidity.

According to Donald McCrabb, the former director of the Catholic Campus Ministry Association, many chaplains are adopting more traditional models of ministry. Williams College and Columbia University are some of the places where the voice of conservative Catholics is now dominant. Both for “cultural” and “ecclesial” reasons, McCrabb said, chaplains on non-Catholic campuses are increasingly taking something of a “ghetto approach.” “We do a little more circling of the wagons,” he said. “The benefit of that is that it helps people to form a strong identity; the disadvantage of that is that they’re unable to engage others.”

A “ghetto approach” may appeal to some, but whether it serves the majority of students is dubious. Students are asked to develop a rigorous and skeptical eye in the classroom. No premise or tradition is held to be beyond question. In such an environment, chaplains need to work creatively to introduce students to the richness and intellectual rigor of the Catholic tradition. On issues like the morality of war, bioethics, economic injustice, the relationship between religion and science, or the faith that informs the work of Catholic writers, like Flannery O’Connor or Graham Greene, Catholicism can enrich a student’s education immeasurably. Exploring and wrestling with the church’s intellectual resources can decisively shape a young person’s faith. So can educating students about the diversity of views embraced by faithful Catholic scholars and writers. Young people need to see that the Catholic faith is an evolving intellectual and spiritual tradition, one that welcomes their questions and takes their doubts seriously.

The Newman model

In the early 20th century, priests and religious built centers for Catholic study and worship on secular campuses. Many of these centers were known as Newman clubs, to honor the English convert, theologian and cardinal, who was arguably one of the greatest writers and intellectual figures of the 19th century. He is perhaps best known for his Apologia pro Vita Sua, one of the greatest spiritual autobiographies ever ...