WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY?

What does it mean to be a Catholic University?

30 Years of Ex Corde Ecclesiae

There is nothing greater than serving God. Studying, working, and teaching at a university is one of the most wonderful jobs on earth. When you combine these two - teaching at a university dedicated to serving God - you have the ultimate…a Catholic university! But, what makes a university Catholic?

If you want the best answer, read Ex Corde Ecclesiae, John Paul II’s Apostolic Constitution on Catholic Universities. It is so important to Ave Maria University we put it center stage in our seal.

When the document was published in 1990, it created an uproar. Some felt a pope shouldn’t tell Catholics what to do. Others thought John Paul II didn’t know anything about universities, even though he’d been a professor for decades. Still, others thought he was simply a biased European lacking a working knowledge of America. Despite the backlash, the document was a game-changer.

Since the 1960s, universities (along with schools, hospitals, charities, etc.) had been defining “Catholic” in their own way, often standing in defiance against the Magisterium of the Catholic Church.

Basic doctrines of the faith, standards of morality, the Bible, liturgy, church buildings, the Sacraments had all been reviled and redefined. Catholic came to mean whatever they determined. Therefore, the idea that the Catholic Church might have anything to say about Catholic universities was provocative.

And then came Thomas S. Monaghan, with a vision of a university that would consecrate itself to the cause of truth; a university that would unreservedly desire a place at the bosom of Holy Mother Church, fulfilling her call to be Catholic.

A CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY IS:

A UNIVERSITY WITH ALL ITS DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS.

It is built on rigor and critique, research and teaching, dignity and culture, autonomy and academic freedom, individual rights and the common good. However, if there is something good a secular university does, a Catholic university does it better. Because while both search for truth, the Catholic university already knows the fount of truth – Jesus Christ and His Church. CATHOLIC AS AN INSTITUTION.

This translates to how it sets its priorities, goals, and strategies, in its choice of leaders, officers, staff, and faculty, in its admissions, athletics, and student life. It is Catholic in what it celebrates and commemorates, in what it criticizes and condemns. It is Catholic in its choices of academic programs, student activities, policies, rules, and regulations. It is Catholic publicly and unabashedly, without embarrassment or apology.

CATHOLIC IN ITS INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE.

There is a joy in searching for, discovering, and communicating truth in every field of knowledge.

However, just as it ‘is not good for man to be alone,” it is not good for scholars and students to be alone and to become too compartmentalized. Bringing the various disciplines together provide mutual enhancement and all of this should be anchored by an understanding of theology. This way, faith and reason can be brought into dialogue enabling people to come to the full measure of their humanity. CATHOLIC IN ITS PROTECTION AND ADVANCEMENT OF THE HUMAN PERSON.

While society has experienced unprecedented accomplishments in science and technology it lacks an accompanying ethic and enlightenment to the meaning of these discoveries so as to ensure they are used for the good of mankind. John Paul II emphasizes this by saying what is at stake is the “very meaning of the human person.”

A CATHOLIC COMMUNITY ANIMATED BY THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST.

More than just a collection of books, scholars or students thrown together, a Catholic university is dedicated to the cause of truth and not caught up in convenient lies or trendy catchphrases. Their common vision of the dignity of the human person informs and directs their study, work, and fun. Some choices considered perfectly normal everywhere else (in the neo-pagan world) are unthinkable here because they demean people. All realize the distinctiveness of their school comes from Jesus Christ, who He was, and what He said. In everyday life, this means treating others with respect. No gossip, cynicism, or destructive criticism. Everyone gives each other the benefit of the doubt, learns from each other, and is willing to contribute and serve. Each strives to see Christ in their colleague.

I remember the phone call that introduced me to Ave Maria University 18 years ago. I still keep my notes from that conversation as a bookmark to Dialogue V of Newman’s Idea of a University. Through thick and thin, what a pleasure, what an honor it has been to serve my Holy Mother the Catholic Church in this little piece of her heart. — Dr. Gabriel Martinez, Ph.D. chair of economics gabriel.martinez@avemaria.edu

by: Dr. Gabriel Martinez, Ph.D.

chair of economics - gabriel.martinez@avemaria.edu