Legion of Christ acquires Southern Catholic College

Even though the Legion of Christ is undergoing a Vatican-ordered apostolic visitation because of revelations of its late-founder's double life, it appears not to be putting its activities on hold. It has announced today that it acquired Southern Catholic College in Atlanta, Ga.

From a press release just received from a Legion spokesman:

NEWS: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Legion of Christ, Southern Catholic join in effort
to ensure quality, Catholic higher education
ATLANTA (July 16) – The Legion of Christ and Southern Catholic College (SCC) have agreed to make the college a Legion institution.

“This is a great step for Southern Catholic and, we hope, for Catholic higher education in North America,” said Jeremiah J. Ashcroft, president of SCC. “With the Legion’s experience and leadership, we’ll be able to attract students from across North America and develop programs with institutions around the world. This expanded reach and support greatly enhances our ability to achieve our mission to prepare moral and ethical leaders who will enlighten society and glorify God.”

“We want to build on the great reputation SCC has established,” said Father Scott Reilly, L.C., territorial director for the Legion. “There will be considerable sharing of best practices with our existing institutions. I expect that SCC will experience significant growth in the years ahead, as we can expand the availability of Catholic higher education to students from across North America.”

Southern Catholic College is a co-educational liberal arts college, Georgia’s first and only residential Catholic college. The school provides a learning environment for academic excellence grounded in the Catholic intellectual and moral tradition. SCC was founded in 2000 and has more than 200 students from 25 states on its campus in Dawsonville, GA, an hour north of Atlanta.

The Legion of Christ is a religious congregation of Pontifical right, founded in 1941. Its mission is to extend the Kingdom of Christ in society according to the requirements of Christian justice and charity. The congregation operates in 22 countries and has 800 priests and more than 2600 seminarians worldwide. The Legion operates 15 universities, 50 institutes of higher education and 176 schools.