1. Catholic University names Peter K. Kilpatrick, a provost from Illinois Tech, as its next leader, Peter K. Kilpatrick aims to tackle faculty pay, enrollment and research, By Lauren Lumpkin, The Washington Post, March 30, 2022, Pg. B1 Catholic University has named Peter K. Kilpatrick, a provost from the Illinois Institute of Technology, as its next leader, officials announced Tuesday. Kilpatrick, 65, will take office July 1 following the departure of John Garvey, the university’s president of 12 years. He brings with him nearly four decades of leadership and teaching experience, including more than 20 years as a professor in North Carolina State University’s chemical engineering department, a decade as the engineering dean at the University of Notre Dame and about four years as Illinois Tech’s highest-ranking academic officer. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/03/29/catholic-university-peter-kilpatrick-president/___________________________________________________________ 2. ‘Integration of faith and reason’ key for new CUA president Peter Kilpatrick, By The Pillar, March 29, 2022, Interview [Interviewew:] Dr. Kilpatrick, as you begin this role as CUA’s president, your sense of a Catholic university’s identity is an important factor in how you will lead the university. What is a Catholic university, as you see it? [Kilpatrick:] That is a question I’ve given a lot of thought to. For me, a Catholic university is a unique place of higher learning, where we embrace the fusion — the integration —  of faith and reason, where we celebrate that there is only one truth about the world and about the human person in the world, and that’s that it all flows from God. And it’s only possible to do that at a university like a Catholic university or another religious university really authentic to its faith principle. I think the other important thing about a Catholic university is that you integrate the disciplines because knowledge is not bite-sized pieces. Disciplines, which came about in the late 19th century at the German universities, are not intended to be in isolation. They are intended to be in context of the global society and the society in the culture that you’re in. … [Interviewew:] What is the goal at a Catholic university? Especially with regard to formation, when the Catholic University of America looks at its graduates, how do you measure success? [Kilpatrick:] Well, Basil Moreau once said that education is the art of bringing a person to completion. So I think education is all about helping someone discover who they are as a person, and then helping them form themselves — not only intellectually, but spiritually, emotionally, physically. … [Interviewew:] One missional challenge faced during President John Garvey’s tenure at CUA is that there have been competing ideas even about what respecting human dignity looks like. An example is a decade-long disagreement about whether the university should officially recognize the CUAllies student group, which says it advocates for ‘equal representation and treatment of LGBTQIA+ students at CUA.’ I suspect that issue will arise again as you begin your term as president. Have you given much thought to what your approach will be? [Kilpatrick:] I have. I have given it a whole lot of thought. And I’m gonna fall back a little bit on Scripture. In the Gospel, Jesus says that “whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” But he also says to the woman caught in adultery: “Has anyone condemned you?…Neither do I condemn you. So go and sin no more.” I think that’s a roadmap for how to deal with this thorny issue. https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/integration-of-faith-and-reason-key?___________________________________________________________ 3. Texas to review prayer, touch requests in executions by case, By Juan A. Lozano, Associated Press, March 29, 2022, 9:09 PM Texas prison officials said Tuesday they don’t plan to formally update their rules after last week’s Supreme Court ruling that indicated states must accommodate the requests of death row inmates who want to have their spiritual advisers pray aloud and touch them during their executions. But the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said that such requests by inmates will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and unless they present a substantial security risk or are “outrageous,” they would work to grant them. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/texas-to-review-prayer-touch-requests-in-executions-by-case/2022/03/29/059220ac-afc6-11ec-9dbd-0d4609d44c1c_story.html___________________________________________________________ 4. Kentucky lawmakers pass 15-week abortion ban, By Bruce Schreiner, Associated Press, March 29, 2022, 10:03 PM Kentucky lawmakers voted Tuesday night to ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, taking a preemptive step for tougher restrictions that’s tied to a looming U.S. Supreme Court decision on abortion rights. The measure sparked protests from abortion-rights advocates, who chanted “abortion is health care” and unfurled banners that said “stop the bans” before being cleared from the Senate gallery during a debate earlier in the day. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/kentucky-lawmakers-pass-15-week-abortion-ban/2022/03/29/93c7e9ae-afcd-11ec-9dbd-0d4609d44c1c_story.html___________________________________________________________ 5. Will Vatican schools instruction end Indianapolis LGBT dispute?, ByJD Flynn, The Pillar, March 29, 2022, Opinion An instruction published Tuesday by the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education says that Catholic schools must be committed to a sincerely Catholic educational approach, which bears witness to Christ and forms students to know and understand the world through the light of faith. The instruction outlines a deliberate and rich vision for Catholic school education. But the text is more than platitudinous — it emphasizes that school and Church leaders have an obligation to protect and promote the Catholic ecclesial identity of their schools, and to ensure that teachers and students meet the Church’s criteria for participation in education apostolates. … The Vatican especially affirms the canonical right of the local diocesan bishop to appoint or remove religion teachers, and to remove other teachers in diocesan schools, or require that a teacher be removed in other cases. … The congregation’s text seems to draw from a seemingly unresolved conflict in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, which has been awaiting judgment from the Congregation for Catholic Education for more than two years. The archdiocese and Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School have been mired in a dispute since 2019, when Archbishop Charles Thompson instructed the school not to renew the contract of a teacher in a same-sex civil marriage. The school refused, arguing that the decision was an overreach of Thompson’s authority, since Brebeuf is a Jesuit, not archdiocesan, high school. … While Cardinal Joseph Tobin was appointed in 2020 to mediate the dispute, there has been no public indication that things are resolved. https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/will-vatican-schools-instruction?s=r___________________________________________________________

TCA Media Monitoring provides a snapshot from national newspapers and major Catholic press outlets of coverage regarding significant Catholic Church news and current issues with which the Catholic Church is traditionally or prominently engaged. The opinions and views expressed in the articles do not necessarily reflect the views of The Catholic Association.
Subscribe to the TCA podcast!
“Conversations with Consequences” is a new audio program from The Catholic Association. We’ll bring you thoughtful dialogue with the leading thinkers of our time on the most consequential issues of our day. Subscribe today or listen online and enjoy our entertaining and informative weekly episodes.