Our Sunday Visitor had an article on the rights of Catholic colleges and their responsibility to maintain the faith, citing the cases of Notre Dame staging the Vagina Monologues and Loyola inviting Ralph Guiliani to speat at the opening of the academic year.

It raised some important issues about academic freedom and the primacy of Church teachings, the powers of the ordinary where the college is not under his immediate jurisdiction because administered by a religious order, academics abusing their positions to teach what is contrary to Catholic faith and morals, and the need for greater accountability.

Perhaps the most important issue was the need for more bishops to exercise their authority as pastors and teachers, which is a divine ordinance since it is a continuation of the apostles ministry. All too often bishops are afraid to stand up to abuses and scandals lest their names be broadcast on the media or their mailboxes become full of letters (often written by lapsed or non-Catholics) or their office be picketed by rabble. Yet given the increased importance of colleges in forming young Catholics they should bear in mind the words of our Lord, "Qui autem scandalizaverit unum de pusillis istis qui in me credunt expedit ei ut suspendatur mola asinaria in collo eius et demergatur in profundum maris." (Mt 18:6) This saying might be hard but so was most of what our Lord said and he ended up on a cross.