The Cardinal Newman Society, an organization that examines whether higher education institutions that identify as Catholic are upholding faith values, is applauding a number of colleges’ choices for commencement speakers this spring as “witnesses to the Catholic faith and the sort of people graduates should emulate.”
The list includes more than 10 colleges and will continue to be updated, the society said in the article.
Several clergy are among the spotlighted speakers, including:
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who is giving the commencement address for the University of Dallas;
Monsignor Cuong M. Pham, at the Holy Apostles College and Seminary;
Father Robert Spitzer, SJ, at the Franciscan University of Steubenville’s graduating class in the arts, humanities, and social sciences
Monsignor James Shea, at the Catholic University of America;
Archbishop Joe Vásquez of Galveston-Houston, at the University of St. Thomas.
“If you’re seeking a faithful Catholic college experience, take note of the college’s choice of commencement speaker,” the society said in the report. “This choice allows you to glimpse inside the soul of a Catholic college and evaluate if its ‘Catholic ideals, attitudes, and principles penetrate and inform its activities.’”
Also on the list are Kelsey Reinhardt, president and CEO of CatholicVote, who will give the commencement address at Wyoming Catholic College’s May 17-18 ceremonies, and Brian Burch, co-founder of CatholicVote and now U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, who will give the commencement address at the West Coast campus of Thomas Aquinas College on May 16.
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Timothy Busch, co-founder of the Napa Institute and Magis Center, gave the commencement address to science and professional program graduates at Franciscan University of Steubenville on May 9.
Christendom College’s commencement speaker this year is Anne Carroll, who founded Seton School and Seton Home Study. At the Florida-based Ave Maria University’s May 9 ceremonies, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was chosen to give the commencement address, and Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Carlos G. Muñiz addressed the university’s law school.
In the article, the society also lamented that not every Catholic college chooses a fitting speaker, spotlighting that Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, California, chose pro-abortion former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.