Recently I gave bottles of a whimsically-named wine to colleagues who, like me, lead faith-based post-secondary institutions. The wine is called “Foolish.” I was not being passive-aggressive with this gesture. Rather, I remembered a conversation I had with a mentor when I was deciding on moving from leadership in the public university system into the faith-based arena. He looked at me sternly and shook his head. He had only one word for me as he walked away: “Foolish.” Later, he would open up about how I was essentially destroying my credibility as a scholar, that my career would stagnate, and that opportunities would “dry up.”

This is not what anyone wants to hear when contemplating a major move. In hindsight, I know that my colleague was only looking out for me. His view did not come from an anti-religious place of animus. He was a person of faith too, but, as he said, ‘you have to keep that quiet.’ 

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Looking back on this now I realize that my colleague was not entirely wrong. I was an active person in the art scene, consulted with industry on Indigenous matters, and played an advisory role with governments and media. Many of those opportunities, did, indeed, dry up. A few brave souls were candid about why: “We don’t want to align ourselves with a faith position.” I was glad to know there was only one.

Initially some of this negativity was muted or covert, sometimes as subtle as a frowning emoji when I posted a good news item about the Church. Over time, however, the boldness of the anti-faith position has grown, particularly towards Catholic or, more widely, Christian celebrations. At times it seems almost a celebratory attack, at others an incomprehensible slight. Indeed, some politicians have made a point of applauding every major faith holiday from Diwali to Hannukah, but pointedly omitting a greeting to acknowledge the Easter celebrations.

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On the personal front, I was reminded by another colleague to add my PhD to my email signature, especially when dealing with government agencies. Like many, my titles and awards are usually kept in a drawer, but an off-the-cuff comment from a bureaucrat alerted me to my friend’s wisdom: “Oh, you actually have a doctorate!” When I pressed the government official on his comment he grudgingly explained, “Well, I assumed if you were in a faith-based institution it was because you didn’t have the qualifications for a real university.”

As a former Chair of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities in Canada, which represents some 18 institutions nationally, I can attest to the extraordinary scholarship and experience of the leaders of our Catholic institutions. The same would be true of our faith-based institutions more widely. Indeed, one of my colleagues who received my “Foolish” wine has not one but two PhDs. But that matters little. We have allowed a discourse to build in our community that has made it acceptable to denigrate Christian institutions, and in the process to ignore the extraordinary impact these have had, both historically and today.

Yes, great harm has been done in the name of our faith-based institutions. So too, however, has secular evil proliferated. It is possible however, to acknowledge and account for the harm while also celebrating the great work that continues to be done under the Church’s influence: from the creation of the first universities, through to the continuing development and support of social services worldwide, and again at the level of health care nationally and abroad. Indeed, were these services to be removed, government programs, budgets, and institutions would struggle, unable to absorb the services that faith-based institutions provide.

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If these issues are raised directly with leaders in government, they are always quick to acknowledge this – usually, however, only behind closed doors. Because the reality is that they are able to have their cake and eat it too. They can benefit from the quality, the support, and the outstanding care that are provided by our Church-inspired institutions, but they can also take a populist stance in front of the cameras to express cynical or deeply critical commentary on the Church and its legacy.

At the end of the day, what most of my colleagues focus on in our faith-based institutions is to provide the highest level of care to our stakeholders, to ensure that everyone we serve is treated with respect and dignity. We do this work not for accolades, but for results. If that means we are “foolish” in the eyes of the community at large, so be it. As the hymn says, “Christ has no hands but our hands to do His work today.”