MERRIMACK, New Hampshire, DEC. 15, 2010 (Zenit.org).-
Cardinal Raymond Burke is underlining the importance of Catholic higher
education, and the need for these institutions to keep their identity
strong.
The prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic
Signatura gave an address at the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts,
where he affirmed the importance that "the Church has consistently
assigned to Catholic higher education, in order that 'the convergence of
faith and reason in the one truth may be seen more clearly.'"
He
stated that the Catholic university that "is true to her identity will
help students to be strong in giving an account of their faith in their
vocation in life, whether it be the married life, the dedicated single
life, the consecrated life or the ordained priesthood, and in whatever
field of human endeavor they engage, resisting the secularist
dictatorship which would exclude all religious discourse from the
professions and from public life in general."
"Without in any way
neglecting the acquisition of useful knowledge, a Catholic university
is distinguished by its free search for the whole truth about nature,
man and God," the prelate affirmed.
He continued: "In a society
which is marked by a virulent secularism which threatens the integrity
of every aspect of human endeavor and service, for example, medicine,
law, government and higher education itself, the service of the Catholic
university is more needed than ever.
"How tragic that the very
secularism which the Catholic university should be helping its students
to battle and overcome has entered into several Catholic universities,
leading to the grievous compromise of their high mission."
The
cardinal noted, "At the Catholic university, students should be
equipped, through their study and research, to address the truth of the
Decalogue and of the Golden Rule to their own personal lives and to the
life of the society in which they live."
In this light, he
referenced "Ex Corde Ecclesiae," lauding the Thomas More College for its
compliance with the document and its efforts as a Catholic institution.
Study and research
Cardinal
Burke affirmed, "At the Catholic university, the very manner of study
and research should manifest the bankruptcy of the abuse of human life
and human sexuality, which has come to be standard on many university
campuses, and the bankruptcy of the violation of the inviolable dignity
of human life, of the integrity of marriage, and of the right order of
our relationship to one another and to the world, in general, which is
the trademark of our culture, a culture of violence and death."
"The
first and chief teacher at every institution of Catholic higher
education is Our Lord Jesus Christ," he affirmed, "who is the fullness
of the revelation of God to us."
"A Catholic college or
university, at which Jesus Christ alive in his Church is not taught,
encountered in the Sacred Liturgy and its extension through prayer and
devotion, and followed in a life of virtue is not worthy of the name,"
the prelate added.
He stated that "the presence of Our Lord Jesus
Christ on the campus of the Catholic college and university is not
something additional to or even extraneous to the pursuit of truth."
The
cardinal continued, "It is, rather, he alone who inspires, guides and
disciplines professors and students, so that they remain faithful in the
pursuit and do not fall prey to the temptations which Satan cleverly
offers to corrupt us whenever we set out to attain a great good."
December 20, 2010 11:01 AM
Cardinal Burke slams "Catholic in name only" colleges
Cardinal Burke Addresses Catholic Higher Education
Says Jesus Is the First Teacher
Further analysis and 41-minute video at The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts.
Love,
Posted in Catholicism, Conservatism | Permalink
