The hard-won stature of Catholic universities, still marginal in the eyes of the secular higher education community, will be eroded. The erosion of the standing of Catholic institutions will drive more and more young Catholic men and women, particularly those of outstanding academic ability, to non-Catholic institutions. Institutions will be forced to choose between identifying themselves as Catholic and maintaining the autonomy to which American higher education institutions are accustomed. Inevitably some higher quality institutions will opt for autonomy and the process of complete secularization that has occurred among institutions once affiliated with Protestant denominations will be repeated in Catholic higher education.
Catholic identity is voluntary.
There are many of us for whom that identity was important in the decision to pay tuition for our children to Catholic institutions. But the most important consideration was that the institution was in fact a university, a place where the free exchange of ideas is not only tolerated but valued. If some wish for institutions in which that exchange is controlled by the Church hierarchy, please don't call them universities. Be sure to include your name and affiliation. Legitimate requests for anonymity will be honored.