Are Catholic colleges and universities in danger...

Are Catholic colleges and universities in danger of losing their religious identity as they become more open, inclusive and diverse? Is there a gap between the professed mission of these Catholic schools and their practices?

Presidents and provosts of leading Catholic universities and colleges have been invited to meet with trustees of some of the nation’s largest Catholic charitable foundations in Los Angeles next Friday to discuss these and other questions.

Sponsored by Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities Inc., and the Los Angeles-based Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation, the symposium will attempt to assess the effect of Catholic higher education on the spiritual and moral lives of more than 600,000 Catholics enrolled at Catholic colleges and universities.

The meeting comes after two decades of growth and diversity for the nation’s 230 Catholic colleges and universities. It takes place against a backdrop of declining religious involvement by college-bound Catholic high school students, said Frank Butler, president of Foundations and Donors, an association of 37 foundations that represent about 63% of all charitable giving by Catholic-oriented private foundations.

Butler cited a 1991 survey by the Educational Testing Service of Princeton, N.J., of 1 million college-bound high school juniors and seniors from public and private schools, including religious schools. It found that 29% of Catholic students participate in a religious group or activity. Of the religiously involved Catholics, only 12% planned to be involved in a religious activity or organization during college. Of 10 denominations, Catholics placed ninth in degree of religious interest. The survey did not ask about church attendance or prayer.

Participants in the symposium, titled “Institutional Identity and the Religious Impact of Catholic Higher Education,” will try to determine whether graduates of Catholic colleges and universities have experienced an intensification of their relationship with Catholicism or were unaffected by their campus experience.

“The challenge is to find the way in which a university is going to be Catholic now,” said Father Thomas P. O’Malley, president of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, who will address the symposium. Noting that since Vatican II, Catholic institutions of higher learning have reflected a shift in emphasis in the mission of all Catholics, he added: “Our mission is no longer aimed only at the hereafter, but also very much at making this life a suggestion of what is to come.”

Other Southern California educators scheduled to speak at the symposium are Sister Magdalen Coughlin, chancellor of Mt. St. Mary’s College in Los Angeles, and Sister Sally M. Furay, vice president and provost of the University of San Diego.

The symposium will be transcribed and made available through Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities, Inc., 1350 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Suite 303, Washington D.C. 20036. (202) 223-3550.

CELEBRATIONS

The National Asian Presbyterian Council celebrates its 20th anniversary through noon Sunday at Pitzer College in Claremont. Rafael Aragon, executive of the denomination’s Synod of California and Hawaii, will address the group. The Rev. Syngman Rhee, president of the National Council of Churches of Christ and the first Korean-American to hold the position, will conduct Bible study on an “Asian-American Faith Journey.” To attend, phone (714) 621-8555, extension 4118.

The clock will be turned back to 1897 next week when St. Luke’s Episcopal Church celebrates the anniversary of the first recorded Episcopal services held in the city 95 years ago. In keeping with traditions of that time, the 8 a.m. service and the 10 a.m. choral Eucharist will be conducted using the 1897 Book of Common Prayer.

Breakfast will be served from 8:30 to 9:45 a.m. Period dress is encouraged. Children in Sunday school will experience 19th-Century crafts, games and refreshments. The church is at Atlantic Avenue and 7th Street in downtown Long Beach. (310) 436-4944.

The Methodist Men of Garden Grove United Methodist Church will host a Father’s Day steak breakfast Sunday at 7:30 a.m. It will be followed by a membership meeting at 8 a.m. Men and women are invited. There is no fee; donations will be accepted. Worship services start at 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. The United Methodist Church is at 12741 Main St., Garden Grove. (714) 534-1070.

The Movable Minyan, a Jewish community group for singles and families, will hold a Shabbat (Sabbath) celebration and dairy potluck dinner at 7 p.m. Friday. There will be a children’s program at 6:30 p.m. The address is Westside Jewish Community Center, 5870 W. Olympic Blvd. (310) 285-3317.

HONORS

Dizzy Gillespie, Vic Damone, Jim Seals and Dash Crofts are among the artists who will be recognized with “Oneness of Humanity” awards at the Los Angeles Baha’i Center today at 5 p.m. An art exhibit and social gathering will begin at 3 p.m. The program will include live performances and special video presentations of the artists. Tickets are $20. Proceeds benefit El Ruisenor/The Nightingale, a nonprofit international bilingual magazine sponsored by U.S. Bahais to promote literacy and education. The address is 5755 Rodeo Road, Los Angeles. (213) 933-8291.

SPEAKERS

“Rediscovering the Dead Sea Scrolls” is the title of a lecture by William Moffett, director of the Huntington Library in San Marino and Ziony Zevit, a professor of biblical literature and northwest Semitic languages at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles. The talk, part of the Assn. of Jewish Libraries Convention, will be at 3 p.m. Monday at Temple Beth Jacob, 9030 W. Olympic Blvd., Beverly Hills. (310) 557-0629.

CONVENTION

Librarians representing more than 1,000 member libraries in North America, Europe and Israel will gather at the 27th Annual International Convention of the Assn. of Jewish Libraries at the Ramada Hotel, Beverly Hills, Sunday through Wednesday. Librarians and others interested in broadening the dissemination of Jewish literature are invited to attend. The public is invited to a book signing featuring 19 authors, from scholars to popular writers, at 7:30 to 10 p.m. Monday. For information call (310) 557-0629.