Reilly: It’s certainly more difficult today, in American society, to hold on to traditional Catholic morality and piety. But increasingly parishes and campus ministries are expanding opportunities for confession, Eucharistic adoration, and similar ways of growing closer to Christ. If one takes a moment to listen, God is sending out a clear call for Catholic faithfulness and leadership in the U.S. In that sense, it’s a very exciting time to be Catholic.

TH:  Are Catholic universities growing, and what are Catholic organizations doing to recruit more students?

Reilly: Catholic colleges and universities, for the most part, are doing well. But they face increasing competition among private colleges and universities, as public funding helps Catholic students attend a wide variety of non-Catholic institutions, and public universities become even more attractive with vast resources and facilities. The time is coming when Catholic colleges and universities will be hard-pressed to clearly demonstrate what is so special about them, and bland secularism and political correctness won’t attract students. Having a clear mission to develop students spiritually and personally is certainly much more than a crass ploy for students, but the reality is that truth in advertising and a genuine Catholic mission are going to be essential for the survival of many Catholic colleges.

TH:  Do you see the European Union (and European unification) as potentially detrimental to Catholic universities in Europe, or as an opportunity to spread even further?

Reilly: The European universities have always attracted students from across the continent, so I don’t think that European unification can have a detrimental effect. What is of great concern to the Vatican, however, is the dramatic secularization of Europe. This could increase pressure on Catholic universities to secularize. Of course, because faithful Catholic universities are so important to the Church’s efforts to keep faith alive in Europe, and because increasingly Catholic higher education shines forth in stark contrast to the bland materialism and relativism of the West, it could be that they thrive under the pressure – much as we are beginning to see here in the U.S.

TH:  Has the Pope’s role transformed from that of the leader of the world’s second largest religion to that of an worldwide ambassador?

Reilly: He certainly has an ambassadorial role, but hardly more than the popes had when the Church was heavily involved with the governance of Europe. It does give him a worldwide platform to explain the teachings of the Catholic Church and their relevance to all people. He’s an ambassador, a celebrity, a world leader – but most importantly, he’s an apostle of Christ in the tradition of Saint Peter, trying to bring hope and meaning to a modern world that greatly lacks both. This is why Catholics are almost giddy about the Pope-professor to is coming to teach us the truth that Wall Street, Hollywood and the Ivory Towers are incapable of providing.

Chris Regal assisted contributed to this interview.