Learning from Church Documents and from Our Experience

Campus Ministry Today:

Learning from Church Documents and from Our Experience

Fr Joe Mannath SDB

(National Secretary, Conference of Religious of India; ; 7838159042)

1. Cases: Fr BoscoPereira SDB in Kurla; Fr Tom Brennan SDB at Harvard; Stella Maris graduate; IMCS (PaxRomana) meeting in HK;...

1. Church and universities: a long history, from the middle ages

1. Contemporary situation, especially in Europe and North America

1. Church documents

1. Sapientia Christiana, 1979:

(1)An apostolic constitution issued by Pope John Paul II on April 15, 1979.Sapientia Christianais the canonical, academic law governing "ecclesiastical" post-secondary education.

(2)Sapientia Christianahas two major parts: a discursive proemium or introduction in six brief sections, followed by a total of 94 normative articles, including a few transitional norms for putting the constitution into effect. The articles are both general norms for all ecclesiastical universities, faculties, and institutes and special norms for particular faculties, especially theology, philosophy, and canon law. This second main section concludes with an enumeration of the other kinds of faculties already authorized as ecclesiastical: Christian archeology, Biblical studies and ancient Christian studies, Church history, Christian and classical literature, liturgy, missiology, sacred (liturgical) music, psychology, educational science or pedagogy, religious science, social sciences, Arabic and Islamic studies, medieval studies, oriental ecclesiastical studies,utriusqueiuris(both canon and civil law). …

1. Ex Corde Ecclesiae, 1990:

(1)Ex Cordeidentifies four “essential characteristics” of a Catholic university. They are:

(a)A Christian inspiration not only of individuals, but of the university community as such.

(b)A continuing reflection in the light of the Catholic faith upon the growing treasury of human knowledge, to which it seeks to contribute by its own research.

(c)Fidelity to the Christian message as it comes to us through the Church.

(d)An institutional commitment to the service of the people of God, and of the human family, in their pilgrimage to the transcendent goal which gives meaning to life.

(2)In Part I ofEx Corde Ecclesiaethe Pope describes an inspiring alternative: a genuine community of scholars, learners, and support staff united by their "consecration to the cause of truth" and their "dedication to protecting and advancing," in an intellectually rigorous manner, the dignity of the human person and their own cultural heritage. A university should dedicate itself, first of all, to seeking an integrated understanding of the human person and of human society that draws upon all the scientific and humanistic disciplines; second, it should strive to serve the human community so conceived. As the Pope puts it, the Catholic university's intellectual mission is characterized by "a commitment to the integration of various types of knowledge, a dialogue between faith and reason, an ethical concern, and a theological perspective."

(3)It states: “The Church, accepting ‘the legitimate autonomy of human culture and especially of the sciences,’ recognizes the academic freedom of scholars in each discipline in accordance with its own principles and proper methods, and within the confines of the truth and the common good.”

(4)The Church in the U.S. has the most highly developed system of Catholic higher education in the world. Beginning with the establishment of Georgetown University in 1789, the number of Catholic colleges and universities has grown to well over 200 institutions today. Founded for the most part by religious orders, these schools have made an immense contribution over the years to the Church and to the larger community. This system is unique in the Church, too, regarding the variety of systems of institutional governance and the relationships with the larger society. (Solari)

(5)Although some expressed concern that such a mandatum would limit the academic freedom of theologians teaching at Catholic colleges, the mandatum recognizes, on the part of the Church, that the theologian “is a teacher in the full communion of the Catholic Church.” On the part of the theologian, it “recognizes the professor’s commitment and responsibility to teach authentic Catholic doctrine and to refrain from putting forth as Catholic teaching anything contrary to the Church’s magisterium.” If a theologian is exercising a critical function, based on his own learning and research, in questioning and critiquing the Church’s teaching, the requirement is that the professor make it clear that, in such an instance, he is proposing his or her own ideas and not the official Church doctrine.

11.The Presence of the Church in the University and the University Culture, 1994:

(1) Situation of the Universities: 13 points

(2) Presence of the Church

(a) Presence in the structure of the University

(b) Catholic University

(c) Fruitful initiatives

(3) Pastoral Suggestions

These include: Specialized commissions at diocesan level; university parishes; promoting the apostolate of the laity, especially of teachers.

The church sees the university culture as “one of the most promising and one of the most difficult.”

1. Things to do:

(1)Attractive liturgies: BC, San Francisco, ...

(2)Counselling

(3)Spiritual direction

(4)Vocational discernment

(5)Confession

(6)Retreats

(7)Service on and off campus

(8)Library and reading room

(9)Web-based ministry

(10)Present Christianity (and other faiths) to undergraduates: alive, not dry theory

(11)Train and support lay ministers. They are excellent!

(12)Prepare a model, based on SYM: but aimed at college students. We are more at home with younger students. Learn from groups like AICUF and PaxRomana.

(13)Provide: people, spaces, visuals (eg posters), music, books, electronic media, contact emails and phone numbers, websites (eg Sacred Space),

(14)University parish

(15)Commissions/dialogue...between theols, phils, scientists, ....Mutual learning.

(16)Peer ministry;

(17)Lay apostolate: take it seriously

(18)Creative and relevant syllabi

(19)MOOC

(20)English and the Internet as powerful tools

1. Hurdles I see:

Lack of passion of ministry; real serious commitment is academic and financial; reluctance to recognize and promote the gifts and leadership roles of lay women and men.

1. IUS: SUN. Link with Catholic Univ and colleges in English Speaking world; US alone: over 200 Catholic Universities and colleges (SDBs absent!).

1. Thomas E Woods: How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization(Regnery, 2012).

Father Joe Mannath SDB is the National Executive Secretary of the Conference of Religious of India (CRI). Background: Seminary formator/professor (21 years), university professor (12 years), visiting professor in the US (some 20 summers), as well as in Italy, Spain, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and UK; seminars for educators and heads of institutions; counselling; parish ministry; past president of the Association of Christian Philosophers of India and of the Salesian Psychological Association; member of British Mensa; thinker listed in the Marquis “Who’s Who” in the world; a linguist who knows English, French, German, Italian, Latin, Malayalam, Spanish and Tamil. Studies: M.A. and Ph. D. from Rome, research in psychology and religion at Oxford University, post-doctoral visiting scholar at Harvard University and Boston College. Author/editor of both academic and best-selling books (including University textbooks) and hundreds of articles; enjoys friendships, jokes and cartooning. Website: E-mail: