CST 510. Social Doctrine of the Church, 1891–1965 introduces students to the Church’s social doctrine from the time of Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Rerum novarum to the end of Vatican II. Students will become familiar with the basic principles of this doctrine by reading encyclicals and other Magisterial documents from this period, along with the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. Through discussion and writing assignments, students will explore the application of these principles to particular historical circumstances. Required synchronous sessions will be held each week on Mondays, 7:30-9:30 pm ET. The course will be taught by moral theologian Dr. William Neu, an educator and translator who holds a doctorate from Sophia University, Incisa Vald’arno, Italy. He currently shares responsibility for the Focolare Movement in the Midwestern and Eastern U.S.

An online apologetics seminar, The Art of Evangelization through Apologetics, will be offered October 2–23. Popular instructor Allan Wright will share the good news of Jesus Christ, whose teachings entrusted to the Church encompass truth, beauty, and goodness. Learn to communicate a faith that is both relevant and foundational for one’s life, and gain the confidence to share the Gospel in an engaging, natural way and appreciate why being a credible believer is the most effective apologetic tool. Tuition is just $99, with discounts for our diocesan partners. To register, visit https://www.pathlms.com/cdu/courses/38096.    

Two new Catholic Social Teaching (CST) programs, supported by an $879,000 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., recently began enrolling students. In the Fall I term, the first cohort of students began taking classes in a new AA degree program in Theology with a concentration in Catholic Social Teaching designed especially for Hispanic Catholics, who will make up the majority of the U.S. Catholic population by 2030. All courses in the affordable online AA degree program are taught in Spanish to ensure wider access to higher education for students who may not be fluent in English or prefer to learn in their first language. Upon earning the degree, students will be prepared to serve as lay ecclesial ministers in Catholic parishes and pursue further academic study. There is great need in the Hispanic community to develop well-educated leaders for the Church of the 21st century. A graduate certificate program in CST, with classes taught in English but with options for reading and writing in Spanish, is also now enrolling students. In the Fall II term, graduate certificate students can enroll in CST 510. Social Doctrine of the Church: 1891-1965. Classes begin October 23rd. The graduate program was developed by Rev. Avelino González-Ferrér, a priest in the Archdiocese of Washington, and is targeted to ecclesial ministers who seek to deepen their understanding of CST to better serve their faith communities. Many Catholic pastoral leaders feel insufficiently knowledgeable when faced with the challenges of immigration, racism, poverty, and family breakdown. The curriculum draws upon the Church’s broad and deep intellectual tradition to provide the wisdom and insights needed to address these issues within local parishes. There are also plans to develop a hybrid seminar-travel experience in Rome through which students can earn academic credit. “CST is essential to the new evangelization and provides a lens through which to view the issues of our time more clearly,” says Bishop Robert Barron, the 2021 recipient of CDU’s Founders Award.  He added that Catholic social teaching is “not just for us, it’s for the whole world. We need to propagate it, we need to teach it. We need to announce it from the rooftops.”

Catholic Distance University made Forbes Advisor’s top-four list of “best options for Theology degrees online” for 2023. This accolade confirms what we have known for a long time: the great value and high quality of a CDU education. To determine rankings, the Forbes Advisor Education team sources data from the National Center for Education Statistics and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and pulls information from reputable professional organizations and education providers’ websites. The rankings use a strict methodology to determine the best schools and programs for each category. An expert advisory board of experienced professionals and educators reviews and verifies Forbes Advisor Education content to ensure accuracy and completeness.

The Honorable Maria Sophia Aguirre, Ph.D., a distinguished Ordinary Professor of Economics and researcher in the field of finance, family, and economic development, was appointed the third President of Catholic Distance University on July 1, 2023. The university’s Board of Trustees unanimously elected Dr. Aguirre following a national search launched after longtime President, Dr. Marianne Evans Mount, announced her wish to retire at the end of the 2022–2023 academic year. A tenured faculty member at The Catholic University of America, Dr. Aguirre has 30 years of teaching and research experience, while holding leadership positions at the academic program level, department and school levels, as well as the university at large. She was a Fulbright scholar in 2012–2013. After completing Accounting and Business Administration degrees in Argentina, Dr. Aguirre worked in accounting and commodities trading in Chicago for several years before earning an M.A. and then a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Notre Dame with concentrations in monetary and fiscal policies and international financial markets. She has represented countries, including the Holy See, in international organizations, and served the U.S. President and Secretary of State as a presidential appointee confirmed by Congress in the capacity of Commissioner and Adviser for two presidential terms. Dr. Aguirre has testified before Congress in the U.S. and in several other countries, and has lectured and published extensively both domestically and internationally. Since leaving government, Dr. Aguirre has worked to develop and implement Integral Economic Development (IED), an interdisciplinary approach to economic analysis that recognizes the role of social relationships—first manifested by the family—as key drivers of economic activity. Dr. Aguirre’s research, and the two master’s degree programs in Integral Economic Development she founded, have led to successful collaboration with a variety of business leaders, academicians, technologists, and policy makers on six continents, improving the lives of millions of people in the developing world. She is currently on leave at the University of St. Thomas in Houston conducting research on the application of IED to artificial intelligence and virtual reality. “In searching for a successor to our great President, Dr. Marianne Mount, CDU struck gold in recruiting Dr. Aguirre,” said CDU’s Board Chair, Stephen Pryor. “Sophia Aguirre is a visionary academic leader with a track record of successful academic innovation, as well as pioneering economic research that is Catholic Social Teaching (CST) in action. As CDU implements its new CST curriculum in the U.S. and Latin America, her international experience, fluency in Spanish, and research background will be game changers,” Mr. Pryor said. Marianne Mount Lauded for Leadership President Dr. Marianne Evans Mount has served CDU for 40 years. Under her leadership, CDU has grown from a catechetical institute with a staff of two to the world’s only exclusively online Catholic university, with accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission and The Association of Theological Schools. Dr. Mount served as Education Director from 1983 to 1985, Executive Director from 1985 to 1996, Executive Vice President from 1997 to 2008, and as President since 2008 after earning her Ph.D. at Virginia Tech. Under Dr. Mount’s leadership, CDU is implementing an innovative new curriculum in Catholic Social Teaching, enabled by the largest grant received in the university’s history, as well as new academic partnerships that will foster enrollment growth and offer students an expanded range of academic programs. In reflecting on the contributions of President Mount, Mr. Pryor noted that “Marianne Mount has been a remarkable servant leader who has devoted her entire professional career to advancing the mission of CDU. Under her leadership, CDU has built a reputation as a pioneer in online theological education that is completely faithful to the teachings of the Church. Dr. Mount was recently appointed as a consultor to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education in recognition of her many contributions to the innovative realm of Catholic distance education. As she hands over the reins to Dr. Aguirre, the CDU community looks forward to an exciting future as a global trendsetter in online Catholic education.” Dr. Aguirre’s vision for CDU builds on the foundation laid by her predecessor. “Under the leadership of Dr. Mount, the university has forged an impressive path and is now positioned for growth that will include curriculum development in mission-related fields, a larger global footprint, and a new agenda of institutional research through CDU’s proven online pedagogy. I am honored, grateful, and humbled by this opportunity to lead CDU on the next stage of its journey,” she said. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Mary Kate White, Director of Communications, Catholic Distance University, 300 S. George St., Charles Town, WV 25414 mwhite@cdu.edu; 304-724-5000, ext. 717. To learn more about CDU, visit cdu.edu.  

On March 6th, faculty and staff gathered at CDU headquarters in Charles Town and via Zoom to publicly make the Profession of Faith. Bishop Mark E. Brennan of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston led the ceremony, and CDU Chaplain Reverend Boh, Pastor of St. Bernadette Catholic Church of Hedgesville, WV, attended as well. The turnout from both faculty and staff was impressive. Those onsite also enjoyed a Mass led by Bishop Brennan as well as fellowship and lunch together. (Pictured, from left to right:  faculty member Dr. James Kruggel, Interim Provost Dr. Elizabeth Shaw, President Dr. Marianne Evans  Mount, Bishop Mark E. Brennan, Reverend Aloysius Boh, and faculty member Reverend Bevil Bramwell.)  

Catholic Distance University honored Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of the Archdiocese of San Francisco with the Founders Award, its highest honor, for his “fearless pastoral leadership in upholding the truths of the Catholic Church” at its annual gala on November 17th. The event was held at the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C., and offered the CDU community an opportunity to celebrate the university’s 39th year and look toward its future. The Very Reverend Joseph R. Gibino, Pastor, and Vicar for Evangelization and Catechesis of the Diocese of Brooklyn, served as the Master of Ceremonies. Archbishop Cordileone Delivers Remarks upon Receiving the Founders Award CDU Chancellor and USCCB President Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, presented the Founders Award to Archbishop Cordileone, lauding him as “a champion for human dignity, an outspoken advocate for the unborn, mothers in crisis, the rights of migrants and immigrants, and the homeless, and a staunch defender of the Catholic faith” whose mission aligns closely with that of CDU. Archbishop Cordileone thanked attendees for all they do to support CDU. “Education is such an important part of rebuilding civilization,” he said, “and our civilization is being attacked on so many fronts.” “We live in an age that contests what is good,” he said, decrying attacks on innocent human life. Truth, Beauty, and Goodness He reflected on the enduring power of truth, beauty, and goodness as doorways to God for all in an age of secularism and cancel culture, giving the destruction of Notre Dame Cathedral as an example. “The entire world mourned the loss,” he said. “The timelessness of sacred beauty gives it the power to lift us out of the world of time and gives us a glimpse of that which transcends time….ultimately, the reality of God.” Cancel Culture Targets Western Civilization and Ultimately, Jesus Christ Archbishop Cordileone spoke about the long history of cancel culture and its painful legacy. “We are living in an age of cancel culture. Was not our Lord ejected from influence because he posed a threat to the worldly power of the governing authorities and the leaders of his own people? Were not the people quick to judge without thinking things through?” “What do the cancellers really want to cancel out?” he asked. “It is far more than those who disagree with them. The real activists are seeking to discredit the great protagonists of western civilization—both in the history of our country and in the Church.” “By trying to cancel out western civilization, what the cancellers are really trying to cancel out is the Church,” he continued, explaining that “Mass encapsulates all of western civilization and brings together truth, beauty, and goodness all in one place.” “We need to gaze upon Christ on the cross and truly behold our king, the one who truly gave all for us though He had no need to receive anything from us. Jesus Himself is the blueprint for a civilization of truth and love, a civilization imbued with a Christian ethos. The drive to cancel this out, then, is a drive to cancel out the founder of the Church, our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.” Jesus Came to Cancel Out Sin But, he reminded the crowd, “There is one cancel culture our Lord did come to establish: cancelling out sin. He has done that on the cross, cancelling out the debt we owed to God but could not pay ourselves.” “That is the good news, and the pattern for how the human person lives in accordance with the original human dignity that God gave us. But someone needs to tell this to the world, to open deaf ears and break through the cacophony of postmodern cancel culture so the message can get out, penetrate hearts, and take root there,” Archbishop Cordileone said. He thanked the CDU community for using modern technology to educate and evangelize. Academic Convocation Mass and Graduation The evening began with an Academic Convocation Mass for the class of 2021-2022, which included a graduation ceremony for the graduates present. They hailed from throughout the USA and Canada. Chancellor Archbishop Timothy Broglio served as the principal celebrant. The Mass was concelebrated by Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of the Archdiocese of San Francisco; Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington; Bishop Mark E. Brennan of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston; Bishop Emeritus Paul S. Loverde of the Diocese of Arlington; Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Octavio Cisneros of the Diocese of Brooklyn; and 15 priests and deacons.

Click here to learn more about the course

CST 630 Respect for Life, Sex, Marriage, and Parenting: An Integrated Catholic Approach, a new 1-credit graduate course, is being offered in the Winter I term from January 30th through February 24th. The timely course will be taught by Helen M. Alvaré, J.D., M.A., a well-known law professor, dean, and published author and speaker.  She is currently Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and the Robert A. Levy Chair in Law & Liberty, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University. The course will explore the Catholic Church’s teachings concerning sex, marriage and parenting as part of Catholic social justice, so that students can communicate these more effectively in ways that are responsive to contemporary culture’s values, skepticism, and sometimes hostility. Students will learn to:

• Explain the faith and reason informing the Church’s teachings on sex, marriage and parenting.
• Discuss the relationship between Catholic sex, marriage, and parenting teachings and the “architecture of the faith,” specifically, God’s identity, how He loves us, and how He wants us to love Him and one another.
• Describe the unity of Catholic teachings about sex, marriage, and parenting, and about social justice.
• Articulate contemporary secular objections to Catholic sexual expression teachings and how to effectively respond to these.