Catholic Law Schools Revisited

We have previously blogged on the question of what it means to be a Catholic Law School, part of the larger question of what defines a Catholic University.  John Allen's NCR column this week reports on a meeting of a group of presidents, trustees, administrators and faculty from the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities with Archbishop Michael Miller of the Congregation for Catholic Education as well as Allen's own discussion with Miller. 

Miller suggets that "it should be possible for Catholic educators to agree on some measurable "markers" of Catholic identity" that "would provide data in trying to determine how "Catholic" a given institution actually is." These benchmarks include not only concern for social justice, but: sacramental and devotional life, curriculum, percentage of Catholics among faculty, trustees, and staff, religious and doctrinal attitudes of students over time, and practice of the faith. 

Obviously there is a difference in what benchmarks one might apply at the undergraduate level and those that might apply at the law school level, but the exercise ot trying to identify benchmarks is equally valuable.  Regarding law schools specifically, I just received a reprint of John Breen's "Justice and Jesuit Legal Education: A Critique," 36 Loyola Univ. Chicago L.J. (2005).  John argues that "the one indispensable feature that a Catholic and Jesuit law school must have in order to be deserving of the name is to bring the Catholic intellectual tradition to bear on questions of law and justice," a conclusion that would seem equally applicable to Catholic law schools that are not Jesuit.

Susan