Last week the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education reformed its guidelines governing certain Vatican-approved institutes of “religious sciences.” The document, titled “Reform of the Higher Institutes of Religious Sciences,” was approved by Pope Benedict XVI last June.

The norms were celebrated by The Cardinal Newman Society, a national organization that promotes Catholic identity in Catholic higher education in the United States.

"This latest promotion of ecclesiastical institutes, and especially their rigorous standards for both faculty and students, may appeal to U.S. bishops seeking alternatives to dissenting theology faculty at many Catholic colleges," said Patrick J. Reilly, President of the Cardinal Newman Society (CNS).

Reilly noted comments at a press conference Thursday by Msgr. Angelo Zani, undersecretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education, who pointed out that many lay Catholics in the United States attend Catholic colleges and universities to obtain degrees in theology or religion. However, Msgr. Zani noted that those kind of degrees “do not enjoy ecclesial recognition” as determined by the apostolic constitution Sapientia Christiana.

"Some of the most faithful Catholic colleges in the U.S.,” said Reilly, “particularly those highlighted in our Newman Guide, do a great job of educating the laity, but religious studies faculty at some of the larger Catholic universities can be subversive to the faith of their students."

Before Ex corde Ecclesiae was issued in 1990 concerning Catholic colleges and universities, Pope John Paul II issued Sapientia Christiana to provide guidelines for ecclesiastical faculties that award Vatican-approved degrees. Particular “norms” for faculties of religious sciences were issued in 1987.

The new norms, promulgated on Thursday, were issued to establish greater consistency in educational quality and to ensure unity of degree recognition among the institutes specializing in religious sciences.

A Vatican-recognized degree will now require two years of work to obtain a licentiate, in addition to three years for a bachelor’s degree. This is a change from the previous four-year program. Additionally, the institute must have at least five permanent professors and at least 75 students.