USD Magazine, Fall 2001

hy Franc-is la:z;aTUS USD Provost T he publication of Ex Corde Ecc!esiae marked a significant moment in the history of Catholic education. For the first time since the development of mod– ern research universities, the Church published a single, definitive statement about the nature and role of Catholic colleges and universities in furthering the ends of secular learning and evangeliza– cion for which they were founded. Unfortunately, the discussion of chis document in the popular press has emphasized the controversies surround– ing certain guidelines, including the con– ferral of the mandatum, the official affir– mation by a local bishop chat Catholic theologians are teaching in communion with the Church's magisterium (teaching authority). While these controversies deal with important questions and pres– ent some challenges for USD and ocher Catholic universities, they constitute only a small fraction of the complete message of Ex Corde Ecc!esiae. I will return to che controversies lacer, but would like first to point out those aspects of the document chat have won wide acclaim among Catholic educators for their vision and insight. A positive and optimistic cone charac– terizes chis document, especially in the first pare, which deals with Catholic uni– versities' identity, mission and service. Pope John Paul II expresses great confi– dence, gratitude and respect for the work of Catholic colleges and universities in furthering the mission of the Church. More important, he expresses confidence in che ability of individual scholars and the academy in general co continue mak– ing progress in pursuit of the synthesis of faith and reason chat has motivated Christian scholars since the time of Sc. Augustine. The Church's validation of che methods, results and value of research and scholarship is encouragement co scholars in every discipline. Ex Corde Ecclesiae also provides a sub– stantial service to those who are engaged in Catholic higher education by defining the essential characteristics of a Catholic university. As the document reflects, a truly Catholic university is Catholic in

and universities in the United Scates is the document's definition of the nature of academic freedom: a scholar's right, within his or her area of competence, to seek the truth wherever evidence leads, and the right co publish and teach the resul cs of such research. Al though che term "academic freedom" occurred in at lease one earlier official document of the Catholic Church, Ex Corde Ecclesiae marks the Church's first explicit accept– ance of chis fundamental right of Catholic scholars. Without such an affirmation, individual scholars would have been dis– enfranchised from the very pursuit of truth co which Ex Corde Ecclesiae exhorts chem, and Catholic universities, at lease in the United States, would likely have been unable to operate in the main– stream of American higher education. A final , extremely positive contribu– tion chat Ex Corde Ecc!esiae provides to Catholic universities and their scholars and students is its presentation in broad terms of an intellectual agenda which the Church needs the academy's help in pur– suing. The Holy Father acknowledges the distinct contributions char Catholic colleges and universities can make co the Church, co civil society and to contem– porary culture. Ex Corde Ecclesiae identifies several "serious contemporary problems" that should engage Catholic institutions of higher education, and highlights the Church's concern with the promotion of social justice and the integration of ethi– cal principles in the development and application of human knowledge. Ic righcly contends chat the fruitful exchange of views among the disciplines and a cooperative, interdisciplinary effort to push forward the boundaries of human knowledge provide the best hope possi– ble for achieving the ultimate objective of Catholic scholarship, the integration of faith and reason. The document calls for the study of world cultures, includ– ing the effects of technology and the role of science in posing and solving complex questions. These laudable, even inspira– tional, components of Ex Corde Ecc!esiae constitute che core message of che Holy Father and the large majority of the text. In the part of the document tided "General Norms," however, we find cer- continued on page 15

its inspiration of individuals and of the university community, continues co reflect on and contribute co the expand– ing body of human knowledge, is faith– ful co the Christian message, and demon– strates an institutional commitment to the service of God's people. This state– ment of characteristics defines the nature of a Catholic university in personal,

Provost Francis Lazarus

organizational and universal terms, and provides goals for both aspiration and evaluation. These characteristics also provide a general foundation upon which each Catholic university can fash- ~ "Perluips the most critical section of Ex Corde Ecdesfae for Catholic colleges and universities in the United States is the document's definition of the nature of academic freedom." ion a mission statement and a set of goals and objectives chat support the needs of the university and its constituents, as well as the needs of the Church. Perhaps the most critical section of Ex Corde Ecclesiae for Catholic colleges ~

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FALL 2001