The Catholic Intellectual Tradition at Catholic Colleges and Universities

Transcription

1 The Catholic Intellectual Tradition at Catholic Colleges and Universities Michael Galligan-Stierle, Ph.D. President and CEO Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (202)

2 A University is the Church s Best Instrument a Catholic University is without a doubt one of the best instruments that the Church offers to our age which is searching for certainty and wisdom the Church should never fail to interest herself in this Institution. Pope John Paul II Ex corde Ecclesiae, 10.

3 What does it mean to be Catholic? Intellectual? Part of the Tradition?

4 To be Catholic

5 Basic Principles Sacramentality: seeing God in all things Mediation: God acting through the human, the material, and the finite Communion: seeking the unity of humankind

6 Other Principles Reason Analogical imagination Universality Communion

7 To be an intellectual

8 What is a University? A university is a place where inquiry is pushed forward, and discoveries verified and perfected, and rashness rendered innocuous, and error exposed, by the collision of mind with mind, and knowledge with knowledge. The Rise and Progress of Universities (1872) Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman

9 The Church is a longtime advocate and supporter of colleges and universities Central to founding of first universities in medieval Europe University of Bologna (1088) University of Paris (mid-11 th c.) University of Oxford (c. 1096) University of Cambridge (1209)

10 Catholic Institutions Among Earliest in United States Georgetown University (1789) Mount St. Mary s University (1808) Spalding University (1814) Xavier University (1831)

11 Search without reserve It is an honor and responsibility of a Catholic university to consecrate itself without reserve to its free search for the truth about nature, man and God. (EcE, 4)

12 How does the Tradition link Catholicism and intellectual pursuit?

13 The Contributions of Church Scholars St. Augustine ( ) St. Gregory the Great (c ) St. Thomas Aquinas ( ) St. Catherine of Siena ( ) St. Teresa of Ávila ( ) St. Edith Stein ( ) How do we understand the presence of God in the world? How does God work through people? How does God accomplish plans? What role does sin play in the human story? Questions adapted from Morey and Piderit, Catholic Higher Education.

14 Intellectual Pursuit The outcome of centuries of experience, prayer, action, and critical reflection. Reflected in conversation and a way to approach knowledge.

15 A diverse set of Church documents informs the tradition and guides our efforts in the present. Second Vatican Council (1965) Canon Law (1983) Ex corde Ecclesiae (1990) Application of Ex corde Eccelsiae to the United States (2001) Pope Benedict XVI, Address to Catholic Educators (2008)

16 Second Vatican Council (1965) Declaration on Christian education, Gravissimum Educationis Universal right to education All schools should be involved in moral and religious education Universities should strive for a deeper realization of the harmony between faith and science

17 Ex corde Ecclesiae (1990) Promulgated by Pope John Paul II Lays out norms and guidelines Promotes ways to enhance Catholic identity on Catholic college/university campuses.

18 Address of Pope Benedict XVI to Catholic Educators (2008) Education is integral to the mission of the Church to proclaim the Good News. A university or school's Catholic identity is not simply a question of the number of Catholic students. It is a question of conviction

19 Summary Catholicism aims for an understanding of the world around us, in order to bring us closer to God. Intellectual pursuit has been a hallmark of the Church s practice over the past two millennia.

20 Catholic Intellectual Tradition What are its components? How does it manifest in our universities?

21 Studying Religious Thought: Philosophy Before modern divergence, inherently assumed that meaning came from religious answers Includes subjects such as moral philosophy and ethics Explores foundations of human knowledge and experience

22 The Study of Religious Thought: Theology Explain and discuss the doctrines of the Church Understand the living faith tradition through writers and thinkers, popes and bishops, religious men and women Interpret sacred Scripture

23 The Tradition as a Conversation A 2,000-year-old conversation between the Church and the world; a dialogue between the Christian community of believers and the culture in which it finds itself. the Catholic community has set great store by knowledge of the cumulative wisdom of all the Christian centuries. Hellwig, The Catholic Intellectual Tradition.

24 Sampling of Academic Fields Arts & Sciences English Literature Mathematics History Psychology Economics Computer Science Physics Biology Professions Law Medicine Business Education

25 Interpreting Masterpieces We must think like a Catholic to understand Christian art Christianity and the Church a central feature for great artists: Michelangelo Peter Paul Rubens Franz Joseph Haydn Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

26 Legal Education as a Quest for Justice CIT shapes the questions law professors ask What kind of people will our students become? Aims to create a humane culture Demonstrates a commitment to human dignity and the justice of God s kingdom Embody a culture of discernment, vocation, and sacramentality

27 A Way of Approaching Knowledge 6. Sacramental principle 1. Commitment to the continuity of faith and reason 5. Scholarship as integration of knowledge 2. Cherishing of the cumulative wisdom of the past Monika Hellwig, The Catholic Intellectual Tradition. 4. Communal dimension of all human actions 3. Inclusive, nonelitist

28 Dialogue of Faith and Reason CIT That Catholic universities may more and more be places where, in the light of the Gospel, it is possible to experience the harmonious unity existing between faith and reason. Pope Benedict XVI, General Prayer for October 2010

29 How Does Faith Illuminate Reason? Faith works to sharpen the inner eye (Pope John Paul II, Fides et Ratio,1998) Faith is the rudder which gives direction to scholarship to guide its conclusions from floundering on the shoals of irrationality (DiCicco, 2005, para.1)

30 The Catholic Intellectual Tradition in Its Many Varieties We seek strength through a diversity of perspectives and a range of charisms.

31 The Many Charisms of CIT Many religious orders and lay communities have founded and operate institutions of higher education. Sisters of Mercy Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) Order of Preachers (Dominicans) Society of Jesus Society of Mary Order of Saint Benedict Order of Saint Augustine

32 Reflecting and Inflecting the Tradition Religious charisms access their unique charisms and spiritual disciplines to develop curricula and programs. Jesuits and the Ratio studiorum Four Pillars of Dominican Life The Rule of St. Benedict

33 The Characteristics of a Mercy Institution Emphasis on the dignity of the person Academic excellence and lifelong learning Education of the whole person: body, mind, and spirit Promotion of compassion and justice to the less fortunate, especially women and children

34 Franciscans Accruing Knowledge, Eschewing Its Products For St. Francis and St. Clare, to follow Christ and to pursue a life of poverty meant that books were not to be accrued either individually or communally nor should one pursue academic study because it risked engendering intellectual pride. Ilia Delio, O.S.F.

35 Dominicans Seeking Truth with a Posture of Humility Perhaps the first requirement of a good university teacher is that he or she refuses to be a guru, to be the one who knows. All that the teacher can do is to accompany the students in their process of discovery. [Truth] is not to be captured with the cleanness of a single vision, but sneaked up on, through many partial notions, many inadequate theories, through all sorts of tools, and it comes to us finally as a surprise and a gift. Timothy Radcliffe, O.P. Master of the Order of Preachers,

36 Four Pillars of Dominican Life Prayer Study Community Apostolate

37 Jesuits Building a Catholic Community The true Catholic university is a community of teachers, scholars, students, and administrators sharing an intellectual journey and conversation in the pursuit of truth. The Catholic Intellectual Tradition: A Conversation at Boston College (Church in the 21 st Century Center, 2010), 14.

38 Ratio Studiorum: A Guide to Jesuit Education Developed in 16 th century First published in Naples in 1598 Outlines exercises and course of study Closely related to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Work from letters to theology and philosophy Still guides Jesuit universities today

39 Characteristics of Jesuit Education Jesuit education: Is world-affirming. Assists in the total formation of each individual within the community. Includes a religious dimension that permeates the entire education. Is an apostolic instrument. Promotes dialogue between faith and culture.

40 Marianist Charism 1. People of faith. 2. Followers of Mary. 3. People of community. 4. Discipleship of equals. 5. Leaders in mission.

41 Characteristics of Marianist Universities Educate for formation in faith Provide an integral quality education Educate in family spirit Educate for service, justice, and peace Educate for adaptation and change

42 Rule of Saint Benedict Written in 6 th century A.D. to govern monastic life Emphasizes via media, a middle way of moderation and discretion Applied to education in modern era

43 Ten Hallmarks of Benedictine Education Love Prayer Stability Conversatio Obedience Discipline Humility Stewardship Hospitality Community

44 Where do we go from here? We are called to a process of continuous renewal of Catholic universities as they think about what it means to be a university and what it means to be Catholic. The Catholic Intellectual Tradition helps guide us through that process.

45 The Catholic Intellectual Tradition is wealth that the Catholic community holds in trust for the whole human community, whom it may profit in many ways. Anthony J. Cernera, Ph.D. Former President, Sacred Heart University

46 Sources This presentation relies heavily on Monika Hellwig s work, in particular, The Catholic Intellectual Tradition in the Catholic University, in Examining the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, ed. Anthony J. Cernera and Oliver J. Morgan (Fairfield, CT: Sacred Heart University Press, 2000). See also the following for general overviews of the subject: Ex corde Ecclesiae, Apostolic Constitution, Anthony J. Cernera and Oliver J. Morgan, eds., Examining the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, 2 vols. (Fairfield, CT: Sacred Heart University Press, ). Richard P. McBrien, Catholicism, new ed. (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1994). Melanie Morey and John J. Piderit, S.J., Catholic Higher Education: A Culture in Crisis (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006), ch. 5.