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Saint Vincent de Paul
Roman Catholic Church
979 Avenue C -
Bayonne, New Jersey 07002
(201) 436-2222 Fax:(201) 437-5235
Founded 1894
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[Pope Benedict XVI]
  Pope
Benedict XVI
Apostolic Journey to the United States
April 15 - 20, 2008
Prepared Text as released by the Vatican of
Pope Benedict's address to Catholic Educators at the Catholic University
of America:
Your Eminences,
Dear Brother Bishops,
Distinguished Professors, Teachers and Educators,
"How beautiful are the footsteps of those who bring good news" (Rom
10:15-17). With these words of Isaiah quoted by Saint Paul, I warmly greet
each of you - bearers of wisdom - and through you the staff, students and
families of the many and varied institutions of learning that you
represent. It is my great pleasure to meet you and to share with you some
thoughts regarding the nature and identity of Catholic education today. I
especially wish to thank Father David O'Connell, President and Rector of
the Catholic University of America. Your kind words of welcome are much
appreciated. Please extend my heartfelt gratitude to the entire community
- faculty, staff and students - of this University.
Education is integral to the mission of the Church to proclaim the Good
News. First and foremost every Catholic educational institution is a place
to encounter the living God who in Jesus Christ reveals his transforming
love and truth (cf. Spe Salvi, 4). This relationship elicits a desire to
grow in the knowledge and understanding of Christ and his teaching. In
this way those who meet him are drawn by the very power of the Gospel to
lead a new life characterized by all that is beautiful, good, and true; a
life of Christian witness nurtured and strengthened within the community
of our Lord's disciples, the Church.
The dynamic between personal encounter, knowledge and Christian witness is
integral to the diakonia of truth which the Church exercises in the midst
of humanity. God's revelation offers every generation the opportunity to
discover the ultimate truth about its own life and the goal of history.
This task is never easy; it involves the entire Christian community and
motivates each generation of Christian educators to ensure that the power
of God's truth permeates every dimension of the institutions they serve.
In this way, Christ's Good News is set to work, guiding both teacher and
student towards the objective truth which, in transcending the particular
and the subjective, points to the universal and absolute that enables us
to proclaim with confidence the hope which does not disappoint (cf. Rom
5:5). Set against personal struggles, moral confusion and fragmentation of
knowledge, the noble goals of scholarship and education, founded on the
unity of truth and in service of the person and the community, become an
especially powerful instrument of hope.
Dear friends, the history of this nation includes many examples of the
Church's commitment in this regard. The Catholic community here has in
fact made education one of its highest priorities. This undertaking has
not come without great sacrifice. Towering figures, like Saint Elizabeth
Ann Seton and other founders and foundresses, with great tenacity and
foresight, laid the foundations of what is today a remarkable network of
parochial schools contributing to the spiritual well-being of the Church
and the nation. Some, like Saint Katharine Drexel, devoted their lives to
educating those whom others had neglected - in her case, African Americans
and Native Americans. Countless dedicated Religious Sisters, Brothers, and
Priests together with selfless parents have, through Catholic schools,
helped generations of immigrants to rise from poverty and take their place
in mainstream society.
This sacrifice continues today. It is an outstanding apostolate of hope,
seeking to address the material, intellectual and spiritual needs of over
three million children and students. It also provides a highly commendable
opportunity for the entire Catholic community to contribute generously to
the financial needs of our institutions. Their long-term sustainability
must be assured. Indeed, everything possible must be done, in cooperation
with the wider community, to ensure that they are accessible to people of
all social and economic strata. No child should be denied his or her right
to an education in faith, which in turn nurtures the soul of a nation.
Some today question the Church's involvement in education, wondering
whether her resources might be better placed elsewhere. Certainly in a
nation such as this, the State provides ample opportunities for education
and attracts committed and generous men and women to this honorable
profession. It is timely, then, to reflect on what is particular to our
Catholic institutions. How do they contribute to the good of society
through the Church's primary mission of evangelization?
All the Church's activities stem from her awareness that she is the bearer
of a message which has its origin in God himself: in his goodness and
wisdom, God chose to reveal himself and to make known the hidden purpose
of his will (cf. Eph 1:9; Dei Verbum, 2). God's desire to make himself
known, and the innate desire of all human beings to know the truth,
provide the context for human inquiry into the meaning of life. This
unique encounter is sustained within our Christian community: the one who
seeks the truth becomes the one who lives by faith (cf. Fides et Ratio,
31). It can be described as a move from "I" to "we", leading the
individual to be numbered among God's people.
This same dynamic of communal identity - to whom do I belong? - vivifies
the ethos of our Catholic institutions. A university or school's Catholic
identity is not simply a question of the number of Catholic students. It
is a question of conviction - do we really believe that only in the
mystery of the Word made flesh does the mystery of man truly become clear
(cf. Gaudium et Spes, 22)? Are we ready to commit our entire self -
intellect and will, mind and heart - to God? Do we accept the truth Christ
reveals? Is the faith tangible in our universities and schools? Is it
given fervent expression liturgically, sacramentally, through prayer, acts
of charity, a concern for justice, and respect for God's creation? Only in
this way do we really bear witness to the meaning of who we are and what
we uphold.
From this perspective one can recognize that the contemporary "crisis of
truth" is rooted in a "crisis of faith". Only through faith can we freely
give our assent to God's testimony and acknowledge him as the transcendent
guarantor of the truth he reveals. Again, we see why fostering personal
intimacy with Jesus Christ and communal witness to his loving truth is
indispensable in Catholic institutions of learning. Yet we all know, and
observe with concern, the difficulty or reluctance many people have today
in entrusting themselves to God. It is a complex phenomenon and one which
I ponder continually. While we have sought diligently to engage the
intellect of our young, perhaps we have neglected the will. Subsequently
we observe, with distress, the notion of freedom being distorted. Freedom
is not an opting out. It is an opting in - a participation in Being
itself. Hence authentic freedom can never be attained by turning away from
God. Such a choice would ultimately disregard the very truth we need in
order to understand ourselves. A particular responsibility therefore for
each of you, and your colleagues, is to evoke among the young the desire
for the act of faith, encouraging them to commit themselves to the
ecclesial life that follows from this belief. It is here that freedom
reaches the certainty of truth. In choosing to live by that truth, we
embrace the fullness of the life of faith which is given to us in the
Church.
Clearly, then, Catholic identity is not dependent upon statistics. Neither
can it be equated simply with orthodoxy of course content. It demands and
inspires much more: namely that each and every aspect of your learning
communities reverberates within the ecclesial life of faith. Only in faith
can truth become incarnate and reason truly human, capable of directing
the will along the path of freedom (cf. Spe Salvi, 23). In this way our
institutions make a vital contribution to the mission of the Church and
truly serve society. They become places in which God's active presence in
human affairs is recognized and in which every young person discovers the
joy of entering into Christ's "being for others" (cf. ibid., 28).
The Church's primary mission of evangelization, in which educational
institutions play a crucial role, is consonant with a nation's fundamental
aspiration to develop a society truly worthy of the human person's
dignity. At times, however, the value of the Church's contribution to the
public forum is questioned. It is important therefore to recall that the
truths of faith and of reason never contradict one another (cf. First
Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith
Dei Filius, IV: DS 3017; St. Augustine, Contra Academicos, III, 20, 43).
The Church's mission, in fact, involves her in humanity's struggle to
arrive at truth. In articulating revealed truth she serves all members of
society by purifying reason, ensuring that it remains open to the
consideration of ultimate truths. Drawing upon divine wisdom, she sheds
light on the foundation of human morality and ethics, and reminds all
groups in society that it is not praxis that creates truth but truth that
should serve as the basis of praxis. Far from undermining the tolerance of
legitimate diversity, such a contribution illuminates the very truth which
makes consensus attainable, and helps to keep public debate rational,
honest and accountable. Similarly the Church never tires of upholding the
essential moral categories of right and wrong, without which hope could
only wither, giving way to cold pragmatic calculations of utility which
render the person little more than a pawn on some ideological chess-board.
With regard to the educational forum, the diakonia of truth takes on a
heightened significance in societies where secularist ideology drives a
wedge between truth and faith. This division has led to a tendency to
equate truth with knowledge and to adopt a positivistic mentality which,
in rejecting metaphysics, denies the foundations of faith and rejects the
need for a moral vision. Truth means more than knowledge: knowing the
truth leads us to discover the good. Truth speaks to the individual in his
or her the entirety, inviting us to respond with our whole being. This
optimistic vision is found in our Christian faith because such faith has
been granted the vision of the Logos, God's creative Reason, which in the
Incarnation, is revealed as Goodness itself. Far from being just a
communication of factual data - "informative" - the loving truth of the
Gospel is creative and life-changing - "performative" (cf. Spe Salvi, 2).
With confidence, Christian educators can liberate the young from the
limits of positivism and awaken receptivity to the truth, to God and his
goodness. In this way you will also help to form their conscience which,
enriched by faith, opens a sure path to inner peace and to respect for
others.
It comes as no surprise, then, that not just our own ecclesial communities
but society in general has high expectations of Catholic educators. This
places upon you a responsibility and offers an opportunity. More and more
people - parents in particular - recognize the need for excellence in the
human formation of their children. As Mater et Magistra, the Church shares
their concern. When nothing beyond the individual is recognized as
definitive, the ultimate criterion of judgment becomes the self and the
satisfaction of the individual's immediate wishes. The objectivity and
perspective, which can only come through a recognition of the essential
transcendent dimension of the human person, can be lost. Within such a
relativistic horizon the goals of education are inevitably curtailed.
Slowly, a lowering of standards occurs. We observe today a timidity in the
face of the category of the good and an aimless pursuit of novelty
parading as the realization of freedom. We witness an assumption that
every experience is of equal worth and a reluctance to admit imperfection
and mistakes. And particularly disturbing, is the reduction of the
precious and delicate area of education in sexuality to management of
'risk', bereft of any reference to the beauty of conjugal love.
How might Christian educators respond? These harmful developments point to
the particular urgency of what we might call "intellectual charity". This
aspect of charity calls the educator to recognize that the profound
responsibility to lead the young to truth is nothing less than an act of
love. Indeed, the dignity of education lies in fostering the true
perfection and happiness of those to be educated. In practice
"intellectual charity" upholds the essential unity of knowledge against
the fragmentation which ensues when reason is detached from the pursuit of
truth. It guides the young towards the deep satisfaction of exercising
freedom in relation to truth, and it strives to articulate the
relationship between faith and all aspects of family and civic life. Once
their passion for the fullness and unity of truth has been awakened, young
people will surely relish the discovery that the question of what they can
know opens up the vast adventure of what they ought to do. Here they will
experience "in what" and "in whom" it is possible to hope, and be inspired
to contribute to society in a way that engenders hope in others.
Dear friends, I wish to conclude by focusing our attention specifically on
the paramount importance of your own professionalism and witness within
our Catholic universities and schools. First, let me thank you for your
dedication and generosity. I know from my own days as a professor, and I
have heard from your Bishops and officials of the Congregation for
Catholic Education, that the reputation of Catholic institutes of learning
in this country is largely due to yourselves and your predecessors. Your
selfless contributions - from outstanding research to the dedication of
those working in inner-city schools - serve both your country and the
Church. For this I express my profound gratitude.
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.
I wish also to express a particular word of encouragement to both lay and
Religious teachers of catechesis who strive to ensure that young people
become daily more appreciative of the gift of faith. Religious education
is a challenging apostolate, yet there are many signs of a desire among
young people to learn about the faith and practice it with vigor. If this
awakening is to grow, teachers require a clear and precise understanding
of the specific nature and role of Catholic education. They must also be
ready to lead the commitment made by the entire school community to assist
our young people, and their families, to experience the harmony between
faith, life and culture.
Here I wish to make a special appeal to Religious Brothers, Sisters and
Priests: do not abandon the school apostolate; indeed, renew your
commitment to schools especially those in poorer areas. In places where
there are many hollow promises which lure young people away from the path
of truth and genuine freedom, the consecrated person's witness to the
evangelical counsels is an irreplaceable gift. I encourage the Religious
present to bring renewed enthusiasm to the promotion of vocations. Know
that your witness to the ideal of consecration and mission among the young
is a source of great inspiration in faith for them and their families.
To all of you I say: bear witness to hope. Nourish your witness with
prayer. Account for the hope that characterizes your lives (cf. 1 Pet
3:15) by living the truth which you propose to your students. Help them to
know and love the One you have encountered, whose truth and goodness you
have experienced with joy. With Saint Augustine, let us say: "we who speak
and you who listen acknowledge ourselves as fellow disciples of a single
teacher" (Sermons, 23:2). With these sentiments of communion, I gladly
impart to you, your colleagues and students, and to your families, my
Apostolic Blessing. |