American Catholic universities and colleges are a large component of the global strength in Christian higher education and scholarship, but they currently do not participate in international collaboration in proportion to their capacity. The Roman Catholic hierarchy looks to the numerical, structural, and curricular strength of Catholic institutions in the USA to bring the wisdom of the Catholic intellectual tradition to bear on the economic, socio/cultural, and political problems of the contemporary world. Admittedly, among all the universities of the world, the Catholic universities do not have a competitive edge in the fields of the natural sciences where huge physical resources are required. However, it is the thesis of this paper that through scholarship in the humanities and a distinct approach to professional school training Catholic colleges and universities could easily have the edge in the areas of comprehensive theory and analysis because we have a commitment to multi-disciplinary approaches to the problems of our contemporary society and an integrating focus on the common good. In this paper I begin with a description of the range and variation in philosophy and practice of the colleges in the United States. Then I offer observations about core values that are shared among these diverse institutions. This is followed by institutional examples in Catholic higher education of the application of principles based on an ethic for the common good in response to the realities of globalization. Finally, I offer a general critique of the academic culture, academic profession, and professional schools in Catholic higher education in light of the challenges presented to us as a result of the outcomes of globalization.