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Secretary General participates in the Annual Meeting of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU)

The important role of Catholic Higher Education

Catholic higher education plays “a very important role”, because the Catholic Church “is still a credible Institution, which people trust because of her ability to be in favour of the human person and to be a mediator in seeking solutions to the more delicate problems in society and in our common life”, said Sr. Raffaella Petrini, Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State, during her address at the Annual Meeting of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU), on Sunday morning, 2 February, at the Grand Hyatt Washington in the capital of the United States of America.

With the theme, “Stewarding the Mission, Transforming the Enterprise”, ACCU’s Annual Meeting, (31 January – 3 February) was attended by presidents and senior administrators of Catholic Colleges from around the world, who shared their ideas and discussed important issues regarding Catholic higher education.

 

The following is the Secretary General’s address at the ACCU Annual Meeting.

 

The Mission of Catholic Higher Education:

The Challenge of Integrating Minds, Hearts, and Hands.

 

  1. A Mission of Hope

I wish to thank the President of ACCU, Donna Carroll, for her kind invitation to this 2025 Annual Meeting, Vice President Rebecca Sawyer, and Laurie Joyner, President of St. Norbert College and kind facilitator of my keynote. I am very pleased and honored to be here with all of you today.

I would like to begin my reflection by focusing on how Pope Francis, in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (2013), highlights the intrinsic missionary commitment of Catholic education, which according to him should teach young people «critical thinking» and encourage «the development of mature moral values»[1]. In this document, the Pope claims that universities [and colleges] are outstanding environments for articulating and developing this missionary commitment «in an interdisciplinary and integrated way»[2]. Together with Catholic schools, they can be «a most valuable resource for the evangelization of culture, even in those countries and cities where hostile situations challenge us to greater creativity in our search for suitable methods»[3].

Indeed, a crucial question we need to address is how this missionary commitment can operatively unfold and be sustained. The challenges are very significant, when – the Pope says – «we are not living an epoch of change so much as an epochal change»[4], a time when we are experiencing a profound cultural shift marked by wide-ranging anthropological and environmental crises. Nevertheless, in the Papal Bull Spes non confundit that proclaims the Jubilee Year 2025, hope is recognized as one of the most powerful motivational drives of the human soul. «Everyone knows what it is to hope», Pope Francis claims, because «in the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring»[5]. Hope should make the Christian message not only «informative» but also «performative»[6], states Pope Benedict XVI: it should make things happen and be life changing. Moreover, hope does not have a merely individual nature; it brings people closer to one another and it is an expression of the spirit that leads the human family in its common search for happiness[7]. Therefore, if it is «performative», Christian hope should lend great energy to commitment in all areas of human existence, including education, «because it generates confidence in the possibility of building a better world»[8].

Catholic colleges and universities can actively participate in this process of making Christian hope «performative» by educating young people to become consistent builders of a better world, by forming human persons capable of expressing themselves in the three languages that a mature person should know[9] – the language of the mind, the language of the heart and the language of the hand. The primary task of every Catholic educator is precisely to form persons capable of putting knowledge enlightened by faith into action, serving a greater good.

  1. A Mission of Relationship

Although it is not easy to identify the tools with which we can effectively outline this complex task, I believe, as I have previously shared with some of you in Rome last year, that some insights may come to us from a deeper reflection upon the four criteria that Pope Francis himself outlined in the preface of the Apostolic Constitution Veritatis Gaudium (2017)[10]. These criteria are guidelines for the renewal of ecclesiastical studies, but they could also be considered with regard to a more general and broader approach to Catholic higher studies. Many challenges we face in the domain of education are common to various institutions and as Catholics we are especially called to move forward as One Body, in a «synodal» way, in a way that strives to integrate «communion, mission, and participation»[11].

The first criterion lies in keeping formation open to the existence of a Transcendent reality, to the existence of spiritual needs that are an essential part of human well-being and integral human development. Certainly, current social research and economic studies do recognize that the dimensions of wellbeing and human development have been expanded so as to include immaterial values such as rights, freedoms, fair distribution, community building, respect for creation, civic engagement, as well as the concepts of happiness and a better quality of life that are no longer linked to measuring merely quantitative factors[12].

Pope Francis warns educators against the risk of «falling once again into a “soulless rationalism”, conditioned by a technocratic culture that leads us to it»[13]. He underscores that «when human beings are regarded as mere matter, when reality is constrained within the limits of what is visible, when reason is reduced to mathematical logic»[14], then we lose our capacity to wonder; hence we lose our capacity to think and reflect on the reality of human existence.

Implementing Christian formation should naturally strengthen   our Christian identity, for the deeper and the stronger our identity is, the more capable we become of enriching others with our own contribution. In fact, there can be no true dialogue with others without a sense of our own identity[15]. The truth that Christ redeems not only the individual person, but also social, economic, and political relationships, should lead us to form people capable of focusing their attention on what we have in common rather than what divides, on convergences rather than divergences, on what is shareable rather than what is unacceptable. Catholic higher education in this sense plays a very important role because, despite many human difficulties and pitfalls, the Catholic Church is still a credible institution, trusted for her capacity to be for the human person and to be a mediator in search of solutions to the most delicate problems of society and our common life. More recently, on his visit to Belgium, Pope Francis has reiterated the importance of making «academic and cultural formation a critical space that both understands and speaks about life»[16], a space where the truth is passionately searched for despite being immersed in «a culture marked by a refusal to seek the truth»[17]. The Truth about the human person implies the acknowledgment of a spiritual reality that needs to be nurtured and well-maintained, just like the corporeal one.

The second criterion is related to the capacity of our Catholic institutions to offer a space for encounter, to promote a culture of hospitality, also emphasized in the spirit of the Jubilee Year. Within this space for encounter students are exposed to the mystery of the otherness; they can truly learn how to be receptive, how to make themselves more vulnerable to the other, how to take risks and stay open to the unknown. Learning to live with and experience what is different pushes us out of our comfort zone. Drawing strength from the stability of our Christian identity, we can dialogue «with scholars of other disciplines», believers and non-believers[18]. This is very important in our efforts to form people who are willing to cultivate fraternity, to live peacefully with diversity, to feel like members of one human family and to reach out to others.

According to Pope Francis, the purpose of education is always the building of community from the perspective of a wider sense of society, not tailored to satisfy individual needs but one that offers a space for personal commitment and the definition of common goals, for assuming responsibility for preserving our common home and for developing a common project. Education, thus, becomes an essential means of integration; it reaches its task when it can form people who are ready to journey together, to understand and respect each other; it is effective when it achieves the goal of forming leaders who are prepared to serve and care for those whom they are called to serve[19], by pursuing the common good as their ultimate goal. From this perspective, education is a peace-making force that should help heal fractures, protect the vulnerable, and bridge cultural and generational gaps.

The third fundamental criterion is the commitment to the full promotion of an inter-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary approach. The complexity of today’s problems requires one’s capacity to combine multifaceted solutions. This entails offering, through different programs, a variety of disciplines that form leaders capable of understanding complexities and finding ultimate unity in the Truth of God that is inexhaustible. This capacity should not be seen as a limitation, but rather as a competitive advantage of Catholic higher education in the face of a very fragmented and often disintegrated knowledge. The Pope speaks specifically of the «great mission» of expanding the boundaries of knowledge, so that colleges and universities can become «an open space for humanity and for society»[20].

In this regard, allow me to emphasize here the relationship between theological studies and the social sciences. In Caritas in Veritate (2009), Benedict XVI, like his predecessors, particularly Paul VI and John Paul II, stresses the need to promote dialogue with the sciences. The Pope highlights the relevance and effectiveness of the model of knowledge proposed by the social teaching of the Church, which is characterized by a truly interdisciplinary nature, and which seeks to enter into «cordial dialogue with all knowledge»[21], including literature that educates the heart and mind as recently stated by Pope Francis[22]. Indeed, this model is called to draw on contributions from all fields of knowledge in order to reveal the richness and beauty of the human person in diverse and changing social, economic and political contexts.

The fourth and final criterion concerns the urgent need for networking among people and academic institutions that cultivate and promote ecclesial or Christian-oriented studies in various ways, to strengthen suitable channels of cooperation. Here too, we must somehow pursue a culture of solidarity versus a culture of competition[23]. Honest dialogue, rooted in one’s own identity, can facilitate collaboration and exchange, starting from those areas of research where we can find more convergence. Veritatis Gaudium reiterates that today’s multicultural and multiethnic world imposes a broadening of these tasks by providing intellectual tools that can serve as paradigms for reflection as well as action[24]. From this point of view, Catholic colleges and universities must provide environments where honest dialogue can take place.

In Caritas in Veritate, Benedict XVI claims that we need «a new trajectory of thinking» to «arrive at a better understanding of the implications of our being one family»[25]. This kind of thinking, the Pope states, requires «a deeper critical evaluation of the category of relation»[26], because the true life of the human person is always a dialogue with others[27]. The human person can only be defined through interpersonal relationships, and I would say «caring relations»[28] between individuals and between the individual and the community, which must be lived authentically in order for a person to mature and develop in an integral way.

  1. A Mission of Patience

It should be clear that the missionary commitment of Catholic higher education as envisioned by Pope Francis cannot fully unfold if carried forth by any single person or institution[29]. Rather, it is a commitment that points to the spirit of common pilgrimage animating every Jubilee. It is a journey that fosters a sense of «global solidarity», which, we know, «flows from the mystery of the Trinity»[30]. It reveals a mission that requires teamwork and a community approach. It is a service that involves shared responsibility and a pact of cooperation with one another. It is an example of a unifying goal, rooted in collaboration, which demands us to live with the natural tension of not being able to find answers or quick solutions to the dilemmas posed by «an epochal change». This is a time that requires tests and trials, creative thinking, a process of research, and experimentation which is facilitated by mutual exchange and dialogue.

A journey of hope, like the one we have just begun in this Jubilee Year, is also a journey of patience, «the daughter of hope and its firm foundation», as Pope Francis says[31]. The practice of being patient pilgrims of hope could enable us to overcome fears, help us to grow in our own capacity for discernment and risk-taking, and remind us not to lose sight of the ultimate task of higher Catholic educators, which is to «humanize education»[32], not only through our professional knowledge, skills, and specific training, but above all through the richness of humanity – including talents and fragilities – that we ourselves bear.

Thank you.

 

[1] Francis, Encyclical Letter Evangelii Gaudium, LEV, Vatican City State 2013, 64.

[2] Ivi, 134.

[3] Ivi.

[4] Francis, Address to the participants in the Fifth Convention of the Italian Church, Florence, November 10, 2015.

[5] Francis, Spes non confundit, Bull of Indiction of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025, May 9, 2024, 1.

[6] Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Spe Salvi, LEV, Vatican City State 2007, 2.

[7] Cf. ivi, 13.

[8] Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, LEV, Vatican City State 2004, 579 [italic original].

[9] Id., Address to Students and Teachers from Schools across Italy, May 10, 2014; cf. G. Milan, Per una “pedagogia dell’armonia”, «Educatio Catholica» 1 (2018) 25-37.

[10] Francis, Apostolic Constitution Veritatis Gaudium, LEV, Vatican City State 2017, 1-6.

[11] XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, A Synodal Church in Mission. Synthesis Report, October 4-29, 2023, Vatican City, 5.

[12] Cf. F. Marzano, Lezioni di Economia Pubblica, Euroma, Roma 2011, 203-208; A. Sen, The Idea of Justice, Harvard University Press, Cambridge (MA), 2009, 282 ff.

[13] Francis, Meeting with University Professors, Apostolic Journey to Luxembourg and Belgium, September 27, 2024.

[14] Ivi.

[15] Pope Francis expresses this very clearly in his Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti (2020), cf. 143, 282.

[16] Francis, Meeting with University Professors, Apostolic Journey to Luxembourg and Belgium.

[17] Ivi.

[18] Francis, Apostolic Constitution Veritatis Gaudium, 4.

[19] Ivi.

[20] Francis, Meeting with University Professors, Apostolic Journey to Luxembourg and Belgium.

[21] Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, 31; cf. Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 76; John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, LEV, Vatican City State 1987, 41.

[22] Cf. Francis, Letter on the Role of Literature in Formation, July 17, 2024, 41.

[23] In this fundamental choice rests the dilemma of the expression of human freedom in our modern society according to Bauman (cf. Z. Bauman – C. Giaccardi – M. Magatti, Il destino della libertà, Città Nuova, Roma 2016, 37).

[24] Francis, Apostolic Constitution Veritatis Gaudium, 5.

[25] Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, 53.

[26] Ivi [italic original].

[27] Cf. L. Albacete, Cry of the Heart, Slant Books, Seattle, 2023, 22.

[28] V. Held, The Ethics of Care, Oxford University Press, New York 2006 (digital ed.), 651.

[29] Cf. A. Spadaro, La sfida dell’educazione. Alcune proposte di Papa Francesco.

[30] Francis, Apostolic Constitution Veritatis Gaudium, 4.

[31] Francis, Spes non Confundit, 4.

[32] Francis, Address to the Participants in the Plenary Session of the Congregation for Catholic Education, February 9, 2017.

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