As Catholic institutions across America fight the Obama administration's contraception mandate, Pope Francis apparently wants the presidents of Catholic universities on the front line of that battle. In remarks to a delegation from the University of Notre Dame last month, Francis told the Irish that they are to be missionaries for the faith. He insisted upon the "relevance of the Christian message" and the "uncompromising witness of Catholic universities to the church's moral teaching, and the defense of her freedom."
Catholic universities have had a rough go of that lately. In recent years many of these schools have wrestled with how Catholic they are and how secular they are. Now they have a pope telling them they can't have one foot in each world. They're Catholic in name, in heritage, in ownership — and, now, "uncompromising" in message.
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