Pope Confronts Wayward Americans, Catholic Universities

I had the opportunity this afternoon to watch on television Pope Benedict's Mass at Yankee Stadium.  He included in his homily a call to obedience, using gentle but frank language:

"Authority" … "obedience". To be frank, these are not easy words to speak nowadays. Words like these represent a "stumbling stone" for many of our contemporaries, especially in a society which rightly places a high value on personal freedom. Yet, in the light of our faith in Jesus Christ - "the way and the truth and the life" - we come to see the fullest meaning, value, and indeed beauty, of those words. The Gospel teaches us that true freedom, the freedom of the children of God, is found only in the self-surrender which is part of the mystery of love. Only by losing ourselves, the Lord tells us, do we truly find ourselves (cf. Lk 17:33). True freedom blossoms when we turn away from the burden of sin, which clouds our perceptions and weakens our resolve, and find the source of our ultimate happiness in him who is infinite love, infinite freedom, infinite life. "In his will is our peace".

Real freedom, then, is God's gracious gift, the fruit of conversion to his truth, the truth which makes us free (cf. Jn 8:32). And this freedom in truth brings in its wake a new and liberating way of seeing reality. When we put on "the mind of Christ" (cf. Phil 2:5), new horizons open before us! In the light of faith, within the communion of the Church, we also find the inspiration and strength to become a leaven of the Gospel in the world. We become the light of the world, the salt of the earth (cf. Mt 5:13-14), entrusted with the "apostolate" of making our own lives, and the world in which we live, conform ever more fully to God's saving plan.

This visit to America was remarkable in several respects; and it was heavily covered by the news media. But one speech he gave was particularly noteworthy.  He spoke earlier this week to educators at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.  This particular speech did not receive much media attention.

Concern has been expressed in some quarters regarding the changing character of Catholic colleges and universities-- that they are becoming too secular, that they are not sufficiently inculcating the faith among students, that they are not setting high enough standards for student behavior. 

This is not a uniquely Catholic problem.  In fact, many of our nation's great colleges and universities were founded by Protestant denominations; and similar discussions and debates take place within those denominations regarding how far astray their schools of higher learning have gone.   

Part of this happens because of a desire to conform to modernity to broaden appeal and marketability to prospective students.

But Pope Benedict thinks this trend should be opposed.  This is of significance because the Catholic Church is a hierarchical institution, and at least theoretically, his word should prevail.  Said Pope Benedict:

In regard to faculty members at Catholic colleges universities, I wish to reaffirm the great value of academic freedom. In virtue of this freedom you are called to search for the truth wherever careful analysis of evidence leads you. Yet it is also the case that any appeal to the principle of academic freedom in order to justify positions that contradict the faith and the teaching of the Church would obstruct or even betray the university's identity and mission; a mission at the heart of the Church's munus docendi and not somehow autonomous or independent of it.

Teachers and administrators, whether in universities or schools, have the duty and privilege to ensure that students receive instruction in Catholic doctrine and practice. This requires that public witness to the way of Christ, as found in the Gospel and upheld by the Church's Magisterium, shapes all aspects of an institution's life, both inside and outside the classroom. Divergence from this vision weakens Catholic identity and, far from advancing freedom, inevitably leads to confusion, whether moral, intellectual or spiritual.

Given the state of American higher education, this is a momentous stand being taken, if he follows through on what he is advocating.  It is a stand that, for the most part, has not been taken in many Protestant traditions.

Postscript: The Intercollegiate Studies Institute has identified 50 American colleges and universities that meet its chief criteria: academic excellence; adherence to a traditional core curriculum that emphasizes a broad introduction to the liberal arts; and maintenance of a good campus atmosphere for student life.  What was the only college in North Carolina that met its criteria?  Belmont Abbey, a Catholic institution located in  Belmont, NC. 

 
 

 

Comments

[Stormy]

While I am not personally Catholic, I have found some of the leftist secular comments about the Pope to be very repulsive, as I know that all Catholics have.

Not only Bill Maher and Joy Behar on the national stage made crude personal comments, but locally Robert Healy, columnist in the High Point Enterprise, made disgusting remarks about the Pope, akin to those by Maher and Behar. (Healy is one of the most objectionable and vile columnists that I have ever read. Why does the HPE keep publishing his column?) I know that these people are practicing free speech, but I find it to be juvenile and appalling behavior by those that despise the Catholic church and the Pope. It would seem that these people could just not say anything, if they have to make these remarks on their public stage.

Don Imus was rightfully punished for his crude racial comments, but it seems that these individuals will walk. Of course, HBO got some heat from subscribers so they "suggested" to Maher that he apologize, but no termination of his employment was involved. Is it not possible for people like these to show some tolerance and respect for others? These people never have anything positive to say. Perhaps, they could just SHUT-UP!

I'd like to see some of them make similar remarks about Islam and Muhammad. But, they do not have the courage to do that.

[Joe Guarino]

Stormy, of course you are right. Every religious tradition has the right to set its own ground rules as long as they do not openly defy compliance with the law.

And there has been a double standard with respect to the way that more orthodox Christian traditions have been historically treated by the left, and in the media.