The Challenge and Promise of a Catholic University
Contemporary Catholic higher education finds itself at a crucial crossroad. The issues are many and complex. How is the Catholic character of the university to be preserved and fostered while avoiding secularization on the one hand and insular sectarianism on the other? Must a majority of the faculty in a college or department be Catholic? How is Catholic to be defined in terms of culture, belief, or practice? What is the level of commitment to intellectual inquiry and the possibility of...
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Contemporary Catholic higher education finds itself at a crucial crossroad. The issues are many and complex. How is the Catholic character of the university to be preserved and fostered while avoiding secularization on the one hand and insular sectarianism on the other? Must a majority of the faculty in a college or department be Catholic? How is Catholic to be defined in terms of culture, belief, or practice? What is the level of commitment to intellectual inquiry and the possibility of dissent that must be present on a Catholic campus? These are some of the issues that prompted Fr. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., to write a position paper and invite 29 distinguished members of the faculty and administration at the University of Notre Dame to address as they strive to envision and create a great Catholic university. The contributors explore these issues from a wide variety of religious and academic perspectives, and although their backgrounds and fields of study differ widely, they agree on a number of points. First, a great Catholic university must begin by being a great university that is also Catholic. Second, the catholicity, or universality, of a Catholic university fosters the centrality of philosophy and particularly theology as legitimate intellectual concerns, especially as they challenge the disintegration and turmoil of our modern predicament. Finally, how a Catholic university is seen as a community of service is also examined in both its intellectual and practical applications. Throughout, these essays describe a university community where reason and faith intersect and reinforce each other as they grapple with all the problems that face the transmission and growth of knowledge and the multiplication of new and complex moral problems.
PrefaceIntroduction: The Challenge and Promise of a Catholic University1Reflections on the Mission of a Catholic University13The Difference of a Catholic University27A Catholic University35Two Faces of Academic Freedom45On Teaching Theology as a Vocation63A Catholic University, Maybe; But a Catholic Law School?71The Sins of the Cornishmen: A Parable85What Made Catholic Identity a Problem?91Scientific and Engineering Excellence in a Catholic Context103Some Theological Reflections on Ex Corde Ecclesiae117The Catholic University: Living with ND (Necessary Dissonances)127Becoming a Great Catholic University141What Is a Catholic University?153What Is a Great Catholic University?165The Advantages of a Catholic University175What Can Catholic Universities Learn from Protestant Examples?187Diversity and Change: A View from the Margin199Meeting the Challenge and Fulfilling the Promise: Mission and Method in Constructing a Great Catholic University209A Baptist View of the Catholic University225A Catholic University, Whatever That May Mean233The Department of Theology at a Catholic University243The Idea of a Catholic University: A Personal Perspective257On Christian Scholarship267Thirty-two Years at Notre Dame297Catholic Universities and the New Pluralism305What Is Catholic about a Catholic University?313Professional Education in a Catholic University329"What, Then, Does Dr. Newman Mean?" The Vision and the Views339Catholic Higher Education: Historic Past or Distinctive Future?353Afterword371Contributors375
