{"id":8542,"date":"2024-01-26T19:48:34","date_gmt":"2024-01-27T00:48:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/?p=8542"},"modified":"2024-01-26T20:11:55","modified_gmt":"2024-01-27T01:11:55","slug":"can-we-be-frank-about-the-catholic-school-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/can-we-be-frank-about-the-catholic-school-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Can We Be Frank About the Catholic School Crisis?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In the midst of a crisis, it\u2019s natural to look for signs of hope\u2014moments when the news isn\u2019t so bad as it was before. But it\u2019s perilous to ignore larger trends.<\/p>\n<p>Coinciding with Catholic Schools Week, which starts January 29, the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) will release its annual report on Catholic school enrollment. Although the report makes no attempt to count Catholic homeschoolers and probably misses the growing number of independent schools providing faithful education, it is a vitally important benchmark for the Church.<\/p>\n<p>Will we see an increase in enrollment?<\/p>\n<p>Last year, the <a href=\"https:\/\/nceatalk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/23_NCEA_Data_Brief_FINAL_2022-2023_Catholic_School_Enrollment_v9.pdf\">NCEA reported<\/a> a 0.3 percent increase in Catholic school enrollment since the prior year, when it proclaimed a larger 3.7 percent increase. The numbers both years were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.americamagazine.org\/politics-society\/2022\/02\/15\/catholic-school-enrollment-rebound-242401#:~:text=Enrollment%20in%20Catholic%20schools%20in%20the%20United%20States,the%20coronavirus%20pandemic%2C%20Catholic%20education%20officials%20reported%20Monday.\">expertly spun<\/a>. The first annual increases in Catholic school enrollment in two decades! The largest increase in 50 years!<\/p>\n<p><b><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yet it was presumptuous and even deceptive for pundits to suggest that these recent increases are evidence of a new trend in Catholic school enrollment.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p>We can certainly be hopeful about growing opportunities for school choice in many states. And regardless of parochial school numbers, we can be excited about faithful Catholic homeschooling and independent schools. And yet the media and many in the Church seem to willfully disregard other ominous trends in our culture and in our Church, including drastic declines in marriage and baptism. We need to be frank about these concerns with Catholic families.<\/p>\n<p>The truth is, we are still in the post-pandemic period. In 2020-21, the number of students in Catholic schools dropped precipitously (6.4 percent) from the prior year, and 209 schools closed or merged nationwide. <b><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Until we see several more years of enrollment growth, we can\u2019t be certain we are experiencing anything other than a recovery from losses during the pandemic. And if there are other drivers of the current growth, we have no idea if they will be long-term.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p>Consider the NCEA\u2019s chart of long-term trends, with data points every decade instead of showing minor shifts each year. In general, the impact of the pandemic and post-pandemic increases are barely noticeable\u2014from a broader perspective, the half-century decline of Catholic parochial schools is still a fact to be reckoned with.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_8545\" style=\"width: 933px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8545\" class=\"wp-image-8545\" src=\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Student-Enrollment-Over-Time-web.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"923\" height=\"751\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Student-Enrollment-Over-Time-web.png 1000w, https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Student-Enrollment-Over-Time-web-300x244.png 300w, https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Student-Enrollment-Over-Time-web-768x625.png 768w, https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Student-Enrollment-Over-Time-web-705x574.png 705w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 923px) 100vw, 923px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-8545\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Retrieved on Jan. 26, 2024 from https:\/\/www.ncea.org\/NCEA\/NCEA\/Who_We_Are\/About_Catholic_Schools\/Catholic_School_Data\/Highlights.aspx?hkey=e0456a55-420d-475d-8480-c07f7f090431)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, despite the rosy news articles, the recent news for Catholic schools is not all good. The 0.3 percent enrollment blip was touted in headlines, but in fact the growth was entirely in pre-K enrollment, now 15 percent of all Catholic school children. <b><span style=\"color: #000000;\">If we disregard pre-K students, the enrollment in Catholic elementary schools actually declined in 2022-23.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Also, another 44 Catholic schools closed or merged last year, following 71 closures and mergers in 2021-22 and 209 in 2020-21.<\/span><\/b> That\u2019s disastrous! Yet pundits still suggested a great comeback of Catholic schools.<\/p>\n<p>The problem is that data can be presented in multiple ways, and Catholics must avoid being distracted from the whole truth. Although the NCEA has every reason to present its data in the best light, <b><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Catholic parents and Church leaders have every reason to consider the whole picture\u2014and from a broader perspective, the trends in Catholic schools are an enormous tragedy that the Church needs to resolve with eyes wide open.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Cardinal Newman Society urges a renewal of faithful parochial schools, a full embrace of Catholic homeschooling and parent-led schools, and a Catholic exodus from public schools. But if Catholic leaders and educators instead ignore the true crisis, they abandon Catholic families to an increasingly hostile culture.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s a perfect example of how data needs a proper perspective. Last year, the NCEA touted enrollment increases of more than 1 percent in nearly one-third of the nation\u2019s Catholic dioceses. That sounds great, and it certainly bodes well for those dioceses. But if we look closely, most of those dioceses are in regions with the least numbers of Catholic schools, while the dioceses with many more Catholic schools did not fare so well.<\/p>\n<p>The only region that saw a significant 1.7 percent increase last year was the Southeast \u2014 a region where Catholics have long been a minority. <b><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Now look at the Mideast and Great Lakes regions, where more than half of all U.S. Catholic schools were located 20 years ago. In those two decades, Catholic school enrollment has plummeted 34 percent in the Great Lakes and 51 percent in the Mideast!<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a crisis. But search last year\u2019s news headlines from newspapers in these regions, and you\u2019ll find that many (especially Catholic publications) reported good news for Catholic schools.<\/p>\n<p>As for the Church, there\u2019s an additional concern that deserves frank treatment: the rapidly declining numbers of <em>Catholics<\/em> in Catholic schools. The Church has always welcomed non-Catholic students\u2014it\u2019s a great blessing to many schools. But the portion of Catholics in Catholic schools is now 78 percent, a drop from 87 percent two decades ago and 97 percent in 1970.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, while total enrollment at Catholic schools declined 55 percent in the 50 years before 2022-23, the decline among Catholic students is much worse: nearly two-thirds in the same time period. Recognizing that Catholic education is the Church\u2019s most effective means of evangelization and Catholic formation, we call that an emergency.<\/p>\n<p>And while many Catholics seem to be \u201cpartying like it\u2019s 1999,\u201d The Cardinal Newman Society is serving a growing movement of parents, educators, and Church leaders to build a new core of faithful Catholic education\u2014at all stages of life, and in whatever form serves the needs of Catholic families.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; In the midst of a crisis, it\u2019s natural to look for signs of hope\u2014moments when the news isn\u2019t so bad as it was before. But it\u2019s perilous to ignore larger trends. Coinciding with Catholic Schools Week, which starts January 29, the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) will release its [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":8544,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"issue":[403,427],"item_type":[53,36],"coauthors":[70],"class_list":["post-8542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mission-and-governance","issue-admissions-enrollment","issue-admissions-commentary","item_type-blog","item_type-latest"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Can We Be Frank About the Catholic School Crisis? - Cardinal Newman Society<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/can-we-be-frank-about-the-catholic-school-crisis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can We Be Frank About the Catholic School Crisis? - Cardinal Newman Society\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&nbsp; In the midst of a crisis, it\u2019s natural to look for signs of hope\u2014moments when the news isn\u2019t so bad as it was before. But it\u2019s perilous to ignore larger trends. Coinciding with Catholic Schools Week, which starts January 29, the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) will release its [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/can-we-be-frank-about-the-catholic-school-crisis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cardinal Newman Society\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-01-27T00:48:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-27T01:11:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/AdobeStock_254604663_edit1-e1691614783717-1030x543.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1030\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"543\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Patrick Reilly\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/AdobeStock_254604663_edit1-e1691614783717.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Patrick Reilly\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/can-we-be-frank-about-the-catholic-school-crisis\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/can-we-be-frank-about-the-catholic-school-crisis\/\",\"name\":\"Can We Be Frank About the Catholic School Crisis? - Cardinal Newman Society\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/can-we-be-frank-about-the-catholic-school-crisis\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/can-we-be-frank-about-the-catholic-school-crisis\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wormwood_Meteor_of_Revelation_the_Third_Trumpet-web.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-27T00:48:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-27T01:11:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/#\/schema\/person\/b093a094e10e3a61f28997d154833e7c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/can-we-be-frank-about-the-catholic-school-crisis\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/can-we-be-frank-about-the-catholic-school-crisis\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/can-we-be-frank-about-the-catholic-school-crisis\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wormwood_Meteor_of_Revelation_the_Third_Trumpet-web.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wormwood_Meteor_of_Revelation_the_Third_Trumpet-web.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":963},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/can-we-be-frank-about-the-catholic-school-crisis\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/home\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Can We Be Frank About the Catholic School Crisis?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/\",\"name\":\"Cardinal Newman Society\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/#\/schema\/person\/b093a094e10e3a61f28997d154833e7c\",\"name\":\"Patrick Reilly\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/2d33577de3c96c5dbb811924d84414fa\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/newmansociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Reilly-Patrick.jpeg-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/newmansociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Reilly-Patrick.jpeg-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Patrick Reilly\"},\"description\":\"Patrick J. Reilly is President, CEO, and Founder of The Cardinal Newman Society, which promotes and defends faithful Catholic education. Since 1993, the Society has led a movement of educators and parents to uphold clear standards of truth and fidelity in Catholic education and to build up a strong core of faithful Catholic schools, homeschools, colleges, and graduate programs. This is done in full accord with the Magisterium of the Catholic Church and to promote the vision of the Society\u2019s holy patron, Saint John Henry Newman. Patrick also serves as an adjunct professor teaching rhetoric at Holy Apostles College and Seminary and a teacher and developer of logic, rhetoric, and philosophy courses for students grade 7-12 at Aquinas Learning, a classical Catholic hybrid school founded and led by his wife, Rosario. He has authored and edited many articles, reports, studies, and other publications on Catholic education for The Cardinal Newman Society and national media; addressed audiences for national and local Catholic organizations; and appeared on EWTN, FOX News, MSNBC, and numerous radio programs. Patrick was awarded Honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters from Benedictine College (Atchison, Kan.) in 2022 and Holy Apostles College and Seminary (Cromwell, Conn.) in 2008. He also was awarded the Catholic Culture Award from Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College (Barry\u2019s Bary, Ontario) in 2023; the Excellence in Youth Ministry Award from the Diocese of Arlington in 2019; the Lumen Vitae Medal from the University of Mary in 2018; the Miles Militantis Ecclesiae Award from the Brent Society of the Diocese of Arlington in 2011; the Hall of Fame Award from the Catholic Education Foundation in 2009; and the Spes Nostra Award from the National Association of Private Catholic and Independent Schools in 2003. He previously served as editor and research fellow at Capital Research Center, executive director of Citizens for Educational Freedom, higher education analyst at the U.S. House of Representatives, program analyst at the U.S. Department of Education, media consultant for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and chairman of American Collegians for Life. Patrick and his wife Rosario have five children, including four who have attended Newman Guide colleges.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/author\/patrick-reilly\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Can We Be Frank About the Catholic School Crisis? - Cardinal Newman Society","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/can-we-be-frank-about-the-catholic-school-crisis\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Can We Be Frank About the Catholic School Crisis? - Cardinal Newman Society","og_description":"&nbsp; In the midst of a crisis, it\u2019s natural to look for signs of hope\u2014moments when the news isn\u2019t so bad as it was before. But it\u2019s perilous to ignore larger trends. Coinciding with Catholic Schools Week, which starts January 29, the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) will release its [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/can-we-be-frank-about-the-catholic-school-crisis\/","og_site_name":"Cardinal Newman Society","article_published_time":"2024-01-27T00:48:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-01-27T01:11:55+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1030,"height":543,"url":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/AdobeStock_254604663_edit1-e1691614783717-1030x543.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Patrick Reilly","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/AdobeStock_254604663_edit1-e1691614783717.png","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Patrick Reilly","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/can-we-be-frank-about-the-catholic-school-crisis\/","url":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/can-we-be-frank-about-the-catholic-school-crisis\/","name":"Can We Be Frank About the Catholic School Crisis? - Cardinal Newman Society","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/can-we-be-frank-about-the-catholic-school-crisis\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/can-we-be-frank-about-the-catholic-school-crisis\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wormwood_Meteor_of_Revelation_the_Third_Trumpet-web.jpg","datePublished":"2024-01-27T00:48:34+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-27T01:11:55+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/#\/schema\/person\/b093a094e10e3a61f28997d154833e7c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/can-we-be-frank-about-the-catholic-school-crisis\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/can-we-be-frank-about-the-catholic-school-crisis\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/can-we-be-frank-about-the-catholic-school-crisis\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wormwood_Meteor_of_Revelation_the_Third_Trumpet-web.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wormwood_Meteor_of_Revelation_the_Third_Trumpet-web.jpg","width":1200,"height":963},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/can-we-be-frank-about-the-catholic-school-crisis\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/home\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Can We Be Frank About the Catholic School Crisis?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/","name":"Cardinal Newman Society","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/#\/schema\/person\/b093a094e10e3a61f28997d154833e7c","name":"Patrick Reilly","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/2d33577de3c96c5dbb811924d84414fa","url":"http:\/\/newmansociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Reilly-Patrick.jpeg-96x96.png","contentUrl":"http:\/\/newmansociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Reilly-Patrick.jpeg-96x96.png","caption":"Patrick Reilly"},"description":"Patrick J. Reilly is President, CEO, and Founder of The Cardinal Newman Society, which promotes and defends faithful Catholic education. Since 1993, the Society has led a movement of educators and parents to uphold clear standards of truth and fidelity in Catholic education and to build up a strong core of faithful Catholic schools, homeschools, colleges, and graduate programs. This is done in full accord with the Magisterium of the Catholic Church and to promote the vision of the Society\u2019s holy patron, Saint John Henry Newman. Patrick also serves as an adjunct professor teaching rhetoric at Holy Apostles College and Seminary and a teacher and developer of logic, rhetoric, and philosophy courses for students grade 7-12 at Aquinas Learning, a classical Catholic hybrid school founded and led by his wife, Rosario. He has authored and edited many articles, reports, studies, and other publications on Catholic education for The Cardinal Newman Society and national media; addressed audiences for national and local Catholic organizations; and appeared on EWTN, FOX News, MSNBC, and numerous radio programs. Patrick was awarded Honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters from Benedictine College (Atchison, Kan.) in 2022 and Holy Apostles College and Seminary (Cromwell, Conn.) in 2008. He also was awarded the Catholic Culture Award from Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College (Barry\u2019s Bary, Ontario) in 2023; the Excellence in Youth Ministry Award from the Diocese of Arlington in 2019; the Lumen Vitae Medal from the University of Mary in 2018; the Miles Militantis Ecclesiae Award from the Brent Society of the Diocese of Arlington in 2011; the Hall of Fame Award from the Catholic Education Foundation in 2009; and the Spes Nostra Award from the National Association of Private Catholic and Independent Schools in 2003. He previously served as editor and research fellow at Capital Research Center, executive director of Citizens for Educational Freedom, higher education analyst at the U.S. House of Representatives, program analyst at the U.S. Department of Education, media consultant for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and chairman of American Collegians for Life. Patrick and his wife Rosario have five children, including four who have attended Newman Guide colleges.","url":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/author\/patrick-reilly\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8542\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8542"},{"taxonomy":"issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue?post=8542"},{"taxonomy":"item_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/item_type?post=8542"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardinalnewmansociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=8542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}