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A VICTORY FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
College Wins Lawsuit Against HHS Mandate, but Government Can Still Appeal
Having prevailed in its federal lawsuit against the Obama Administration, Thomas Aquinas College has received a permanent injunction against the HHS Contraceptive Mandate. As a result, the College is exempt from the requirement to offer abortifacient and contraceptive coverage to its employees, and may continue providing comprehensive health insurance in accordance with Catholic teaching. The government has until February 18 to appeal the ruling.
On December 20, 2013, Judge Amy Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia agreed that the HHS Mandate substantially burdened the College’s exercise of religion. Citing technical details of the College’s self-insurance program and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Judge Jackson entered summary judgment on behalf of the College and issued a permanent injunction barring the U.S. Government from enforcing the mandate against it.
To date, the government has not filed an appeal, but President Michael F. McLean has asked friends of Thomas Aquinas College to continue praying to St. Michael the Archangel that the College’s religious freedom rights will be secured.
On Christmas morning, the College’s victory was the subject of a Washington Times editorial. “Religious institutions shouldn’t be required to jump through hoops,” the paper declared. “The First Amendment guarantee of freedom of religion must never be denied based on technicalities of interest only to certified public accountants.”
Full story: College Prevails over HHS Mandate 
Washington Times editorial
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MAKING MUSIC
Freshman Wins Award for Choral Composition
The Los Robles Master Chorale has named Thomas Aquinas College freshman Giorgio Navarini the winner of its 2013-14 Young Artist Choral Composer Competition for his original Christmas carol, “The Christ Child.” The 100-member choir performed the piece at its December concert at St. Julie Billiart Catholic Church in Newbury Park, Calif., where Director Lesley Leighton presented the young composer with a generous award.
The music for “The Christ Child” employs “elements of Gregorian chant … to invoke the depth, mystery, and ethereal joy of the Nativity story,” says Mr. Navarini. The lyrics are drawn from a poem by G. K. Chesterton. An amateur video recording of “The Christ Child,” complete with lyrics, is available via the College’s website.
“Giorgio is the youngest winner ever of this competition at 19 years of age,” proclaims the Chorale’s website. “What a talent in the making!”
Full story and video
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ILLIBERAL EDUCATION
Tutor Critiques “Common Core,”
President & Dean Urge Rejection
“Is the secular world finally waking up to the needs that motivated parents have been trying to address for the last 35 years?”
So asks Dr. Andrew Seeley (’87), the executive director of the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education and a tutor at the College. His question comes in response to much of the language used to promote the “Common Core,” which is similar, in many respects, to that of advocates of classical liberal education. Both, after all, stress critical thinking over crude regurgitation; both emphasize developing a keenness of mind over attaining specific job skills; and both value the role of literature as a pedagogical tool.
Sadly, Dr. Seeley observes, that is where the similarities end. Writing for the Cardinal Newman Society about the Common Core State Standards Initiative for English Language Arts and Literacy, Dr. Seeley finds that Common Core is far from the fulfillment of Catholic liberal education.
Notably, Thomas Aquinas College President Michael F. McLean and Dean Brian T. Kelly (’88) have arrived at a similar conclusion. In November, the two educators signed a letter to each of the nation’s Catholic bishops urging dioceses to reject the use of the “Common Core” curriculum in their schools.
Full story: Dr. Seeley on the “Common Core”
Full story: Dr. McLean & Dr. Kelly’s Letter
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THE WEIRD AND WONDERFUL MIDWIFE
Why We Study Kierkegaard
At the Board of Governors’ November retreat, Dean Brian T. Kelly delivered the latest installment in his “Why We Study” series, discussing why the College includes Søren Kierkegaard in its classical curriculum. While conceding that the 19th century Danish author is “very difficult to understand,” Dr. Kelly stressed the value of his theological and ethical insights.
Kierkegaard “saw himself, not as a teacher making abstract arguments, but more like a midwife helping his reader to give birth to thoughts and ideas and sentiments that would foster the choice to live rightly,” said Dr. Kelly. “He wanted his reader to make this choice, not on someone else’s authority. He wanted his readers to invest themselves in their own ongoing, here and now, ethical existence.”
Full story: Why We Study Kierkegaard
The Complete “Why We Study” Series
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THE HIGH SCHOOL SUMMER PROGRAM
College Accepting Applications for 2014
Each summer for two weeks, high school students from around the country join members of the teaching faculty on the campus of Thomas Aquinas College for spirited conversation, engaging firsthand some of the best works of the past 2,500 years. They read and discuss texts selected from the masters of the Western intellectual tradition. They explore the natural and cultural riches of Southern California. They live together in a community immersed in the Catholic faith. And they make friendships that will last a lifetime.
With the start of the new year, the College is now formally accepting applications for the 2014 Summer Program, which will take place from July 20 to August 2. This year’s program will offer a new curriculum, featuring such works as Tolstoy’s Death of Ivan Ilyich, St. Athanasius’s On the Incarnation, and Flannery O’Connor’s “The Enduring Chill.”
Full story
Apply now
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