CATHOLIC CHURCH AND ITS CATHOLIC SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES
Here are some Catholic documents I have put together that can be a framework for the laity and the hierarchy to work together to keep our Catholic schools faithful to Catholic doctrine and morals.
I. EX CORDE ECCLESIAE:
OBJECTIVE:
·
“every Catholic University, as Catholic, must
have...fidelity to the Christian message as it comes to us through the
Church.”
·
“One consequence of its essential relationship
to the Church is that the institutional fidelity of the University to
the Christian message includes a recognition of and adherence to the
teaching authority of the Church in matters of faith and morals.”
ROLE OF BISHOPS:
·
Bishops have a particular responsibility to
promote Catholic Universities, and especially to promote and assist in the
preservation and strengthening of their Catholic identity, including the
protection of their Catholic identity in relation to civil authorities.
·
This will be achieved more effectively if close
personal and pastoral relationships exist between University and Church
authorities, characterized by mutual trust, close and consistent cooperation
and continuing dialogue. Even when they do not enter directly into the
internal governance of the University, Bishops "should be seen not as
external agents but as participants in the life of the Catholic
University." (EC 28)
·
Each Bishop has a responsibility to promote the
welfare of the Catholic Universities in his diocese and has the right and
duty to watch over the preservation and strengthening of their Catholic
character. If problems should arise concerning this Catholic character, the
local Bishop is to take the initiatives necessary to resolve the matter,
working with the competent university authorities in accordance with
established procedures and if necessary with the help of the Holy See.
EXPECTATIONS FROM FACULTY
·
In ways
appropriate to the different academic disciplines, all Catholic teachers are to
be faithful to, and all other teachers are to respect, Catholic
doctrine and morals in their research and teaching.
·
In
particular, Catholic theologians, aware that they fulfil a mandate received
from the Church, are to be faithful to the Magisterium of the Church as the
authentic interpreter of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.
II.
CANON LAW
Can. 808 Even if it is in fact Catholic, no
university is to bear the title or name of Catholic university without the
consent of competent ecclesiastical authority.
Can. 810 §1. The authority competent
according to the statutes has the duty to make provision so that teachers are
appointed in Catholic universities who besides their scientific and pedagogical
qualifications are outstanding in integrity of doctrine and probity of life
and that they are removed from their function when they lack these
requirements; the manner of proceeding defined in the statutes is to be
observed.
§2. The conferences of bishops and
diocesan bishops concerned have the duty and right of being watchful so that
the principles of Catholic doctrine are observed faithfully in these same
universities.
III.
BENEDICT XVI: ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND BETRAYAL OF CATHOLIC IDENTITY
· 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
·
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.
IV.
FRANCIS: UNAMBIGUOUS MORAL TEACHING AND CATHOLIC IDENTITY
In my Exhortation on the Joy of the
Gospel, I stressed the missionary dimension of Christian discipleship, which
needs to be evident in the lives of individuals and in the workings of each of
the Church’s institutions.
This commitment to “missionary discipleship” ought
to be reflected in a special way in Catholic universities (cf. Evangelii
Gaudium, 132-134), which by their very nature are committed to
demonstrating the harmony of faith and reason and the relevance of the
Christian message for a full and authentically human life.
Essential in this regard is the uncompromising
witness of Catholic universities to the Church’s moral teaching, and the
defense of her freedom, precisely in and through her institutions, to uphold
that teaching as authoritatively proclaimed by the magisterium of her pastors.
It is my hope that the University of Notre Dame will continue to offer unambiguous
testimony to this aspect of its foundational Catholic identity, especially in
the face of efforts, from whatever quarter, to dilute that indispensable
witness. And this is important: its identity, as it was intended from the
beginning. To defend it, to preserve it and to advance it!
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