What is a Catholic University?
I got my answer towards the end of the campus tour. The nice young lady who lead the tour stopped across the street from the church. She pointed to it, but quickly explained 'it was not part of the university' She provided no further explanation and/or history of this beautiful old building. She did go on to say that 'though this is a catholic school, you only have to take two religion classes, they can be about any religion and there is alot of diversity in your choices. Don't worry' she said, 'nothing is forced on you here'. Her tone was hurried and apologetic, like it was something she knew she had to say but didn't want to. As I mentioned earlier, my son really liked the school and chose to visit it because it has a highly regarded program of study in his interest area. But it got me thinking. How does a university get to become a Catholic university and are there rules it must follow? Turns out that there is.
Pope John Paul II spoke and published the Ex Corde Ecclesiae in 1990. Below is Article 2 that outlines the nature of a Catholic university.
Article 2. The Nature of a Catholic University
§ 1. A Catholic University, like every university, is a community of scholars representing various branches of human knowledge. It is dedicated to research, to teaching, and to various kinds of service in accordance with its cultural mission.
§ 2. A Catholic University, as Catholic, informs and carries out its research, teaching, and all other activities with Catholic ideals, principles and attitudes. It is linked with the Church either by a formal, constitutive and statutory bond or by reason of an institutional commitment made by those responsible for it.
§ 3. Every Catholic University is to make known its Catholic identity, either in a mission statement or in some other appropriate public document, unless authorized otherwise by the competent ecclesiastical Authority. The University, particularly through its structure and its regulations, is to provide means which will guarantee the expression and the preservation of this identity in a manner consistent with §2.
§ 4. Catholic teaching and discipline are to influence all university activities, while the freedom of conscience of each person is to be fully respected(46). Any official action or commitment of the University is to be in accord with its Catholic identity.
§ 5. A Catholic University possesses the autonomy necessary to develop its distinctive identity and pursue its proper mission. Freedom in research and teaching is recognized and respected according to the principles and methods of each individual discipline, so long as the rights of the individual and of the community are preserved within the confines of the truth and the common good(47).
I wonder if the apologetic young tour guide knew any of this about her school. (by the way, Notre Dame is not the school we visited)
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