To the clergy, religious, and faithful of the Old Roman Apostolate, and to all those who seek to preserve the Catholic faith in its integrity and fullness:
grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Carissimi

In every generation, the Church must discern the times and guide the young in the way of truth and life. Today, the moral, cultural, and economic landscape in which our young people must navigate their calling is profoundly altered from that of our forebears. Institutions that once upheld the pursuit of wisdom now often undermine it; places that once nurtured virtue now promote vice; paths that promised stability now lead to uncertainty and debt.

It is within this reality that the Old Roman Apostolate must shepherd its youth. The counsel I offer here is not merely personal opinion, but a synthesis of practical wisdom, the perennial teaching of the Church, the lived experience of our clergy, and the empirical realities that shape life today.

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The Crisis of Higher Education
Once regarded as a gateway to opportunity, the university degree has in many cases become an overpriced certificate of conformity to prevailing ideologies. In the United Kingdom, the average graduate now leaves university with over £45,000 of debt, and for some courses the figure exceeds £50,000¹³. Government data indicate that, under current repayment structures, many graduates will still be making payments well into their fifties¹⁴. At the same time, the economic return on such investment is declining: the Higher Education Statistics Agency reports that nearly one in three graduates is employed in a role that does not require a degree at all, and a significant proportion work in fields unrelated to their studies¹⁵.

This is not merely an economic issue but a question of stewardship. Our Lord teaches: “He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in that which is greater: and he that is unjust in that which is little, is unjust also in that which is greater” (Luke 16:10)¹. The Catechism teaches that prudence “disposes the practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance, and to choose the right means of achieving it”². To invest years of life and great sums of borrowed money in a qualification of uncertain value is to risk violating that virtue.

Nor is the problem limited to finances. The intellectual environment of many universities is no longer a marketplace of ideas but a factory of ideological formation. A 2024 Policy Exchange report found that nearly 80% of UK university staff in the social sciences identify with progressive political positions, and over 60% of students report feeling unable to express viewpoints contrary to prevailing orthodoxy without fear of social or academic penalty¹⁶. Critical Social Justice theory, gender ideology, and politicised history are woven into curricula, not as perspectives among others but as unquestionable truths.

Pope Pius XI warned in Divini Illius Magistri that “it is necessary to watch with the greatest care that the education of youth be not committed to false teachers who infect them with the poison of impiety”¹¹. His warning is more urgent now than in his own day.

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The Moral Peril of Campus Culture
For many young Catholics, the transition to university is not merely an academic step but an immersion into an environment that is often hostile to faith and virtue. In the United Kingdom, weekly religious attendance among students drops to less than 10% during university years¹⁷. St. Paul’s warning remains true: “Evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Corinthians 15:33)³.

Campus life today normalises vice under the guise of “freedom” and “self-expression.” The National Union of Students reports that over 70% of students engage in heavy drinking at least once a month¹⁸. The Office for National Statistics records the highest rates of drug use among those aged 16–24¹⁹.

Moral dangers are compounded by sexual misconduct: one in ten female students reports sexual assault during university, with far more experiencing harassment²⁰. Such an atmosphere corrodes the virtue of chastity, essential to Christian dignity⁴.

Mental health is also in crisis: over half of students report anxiety or depression, with demand for counselling doubling in a decade²¹. This is unsurprising when the stability of family, parish, and faith community is replaced by an environment in which relativism reigns, sexual morality is mocked, and belief in objective truth is derided.

Religious freedom is under threat on campus. In recent years, Christian speakers have been disinvited or censored for upholding Catholic teaching²². Pope Benedict XVI cautioned in Caritas in Veritate that “when freedom to be religious is at risk, all freedoms are fragile”¹². St. John Chrysostom likened sending an unformed youth into such an environment to “casting a tender lamb into the midst of wolves”⁵.

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A Practical Alternative: Work, Stability, and Discernment
In light of these realities, I counsel our young people: do not rush into higher education. Begin with work; gain practical experience; build financial stability. In the UK housing market, early employment combined with prudent saving can make the difference between securing a mortgage in one’s twenties and being locked out for decades²³.

Once stable, further qualifications may be pursued with purpose, avoiding both unnecessary debt and wasted years. Those who own property may let it to cover mortgage costs, creating credit history and long-term security. Such prudence benefits not only the individual but their family, freeing parents from the financial strain of prolonged dependency.

This counsel is not anti-intellectual. The Church esteems learning; but she also commands prudence, moderation, and stewardship. St. Thomas Aquinas reminds us that “right reason in things to be done is the essence of prudence”⁶.

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The Old Roman Apostolate’s Formation Policy
This counsel extends to vocations. The ORA is cautious in admitting young men directly from universities to seminary. Too often we encounter candidates whose faith and morals have been compromised by the prevailing campus culture. For this reason, I have directed our episcopal administrators to favour Formation Houses — communities where candidates live, pray, and work together, supporting themselves through employment or vocational training.

This model prevents them from becoming a financial burden to the faithful, while giving them real-world experience that will later inform their pastoral care. A priest who has shared in the daily challenges of earning a living, paying bills, and navigating the economy will counsel his flock with a deeper empathy.

While a traditional residential seminary is an ideal, it is also costly and unsustainable for most of our missions, which cannot yet support full-time clergy. The Formation House model is thus both practical and apostolic — rooted in the Church’s missionary tradition, where priests were often trained in close contact with the communities they served.

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Counsel to Parents and Guardians
Parents, the Church calls you the “first heralds of the Gospel” to your children⁷. This duty includes protecting them from environments that could undermine their faith before it is mature. The decision about university is not just academic; it is spiritual.

Encourage your sons and daughters to see life’s choices through the lens of vocation: what will best prepare them to serve God, their family, and their community? Sometimes this will mean delaying university; sometimes it will mean choosing a trade or apprenticeship; sometimes it will mean carefully selecting a faithful Catholic institution.

You have the right — and the duty — to direct your children’s formation. As Pope Leo XIII taught in Rerum Novarum, “The family … must necessarily have rights and duties which are prior to those of the community, and founded more immediately in nature”¹⁰.

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Conclusion
My beloved children, the Church does not fear the world, for Christ has overcome it (John 16:33)⁸. But neither does she send her young unprepared into a spiritual battle. The prudent path — whether toward higher education, the workforce, or a vocation — is one that preserves faith, builds virtue, and secures the temporal stability needed for generous service to God.

Let us therefore walk “as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8)⁹, forming our youth not for the approval of the age but for the eternal glory of God.

I.X.

Brichtelmestunensis
In Vigilia Assumptionis B.M.V. MMXXV A.D.

Oremus

Ecclesial & Theological Sources
01. Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (2009), §29.
02. Luke 16:10, Douay-Rheims.
03. Catechism of the Catholic Church, §1806.
04. 1 Corinthians 15:33, Douay-Rheims.
05. Catechism of the Catholic Church, §2337–2359.
06. St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew, Homily 7.
07. St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, II–II, q.47, a.2.
08. Catechism of the Catholic Church, §2225.
09. John 16:33, Douay-Rheims.
10. Ephesians 5:8, Douay-Rheims.
11. Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum (1891), §12.
12. Pope Pius XI, Divini Illius Magistri (1929), §78.

Empirical & Factual Sources
13. UK Student Loans Company, Student Loan Statistics 2024, Table 1.
14. Institute for Fiscal Studies, Will most graduates pay off their student loans?, 2023.
15. Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), Graduate Outcomes Survey 2023.
16. Policy Exchange, Academic Freedom in the UK, 2024.
17. Higher Education Policy Institute, Student Academic Experience Survey, 2023.
18. National Union of Students, Student Drinking Culture Report, 2022.
19. Office for National Statistics, Drug misuse in England and Wales: year ending June 2023.
20. Telegraph Investigation, “One in ten female students sexually assaulted,” 2022.
21. Universities UK, Stepchange: Mentally Healthy Universities, 2023 update.
22. Free Speech Union, Campus Censorship Report, 2024.
23. UK Finance, First-time Buyer Trends, Q4 2024.

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