VATICAN CITY (VIS) – On Nov. 28 in the Holy See Press Office the
International Conference on the theme, “Globalization and Catholic Higher
Education: hopes and challenges”, was presented. The conference, organized
by the Congregation for Catholic Education and the International Federation
of Catholic Universities (I.F.C.U.), will take place from December 2 to 6
in the Vatican.
The following participants spoke during the press conference: Cardinal
Zenon Grocholewski, Archbishop Giuseppe Pittau, S.J., Msgr. Angelo Vincenzo
Zani, respectively prefect, secretary and undersecretary of the
congregation, as well as Fr. Jan Peters, S.J., and Msgr. Guy-Real
Thivierge, respectively president and secretary of the I.F.C.U.
Cardinal Grocholewski recalled in his speech that there are 950 Catholic
universities throughout all five continents in which 3,800,000 people
study, many of whom belong to other Christians denominations or other
religions. “Catholic universities have been built by the Holy See or also
by diocesan bishops, episcopal conferences, religious institutes or other
ecclesiastical or lay persons.”
Rectors of Catholic universities from all over the world will participate
in the conference, as well as heads of episcopal conferences committed to
education from Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Argentina, Australia,
Germany, Holland and Hungry. In addition, heads of foundations that aid
universities and members of different dicasteries will take part.
Archbishop Pittau explained that the theme of globalization chosen for
this conference “is not strange to the Catholic environment and especially
not to the university atmosphere.”
“The university,” he said, “must form responsible and virtuous citizens
who with their example and word promote a globalization capable of
respecting human beings in their entirety.”
Referring to the conference's program, Msgr. Thivierge affirmed that on
the first day, “different realities of 'globalization'” will be presented
“as they are lived in our societies.” Furthermore, “the question of
globalization and its relationship with Catholic education” will be discussed.
This relationship between globalization and Christian values in the
framework of Catholic higher education will be more-closely examined on the
second day of the conference. A video-conference is also scheduled in
which some directors of UNESCO will speak from Paris as well as
ex-ministers of education, and rectors from the Hall of the Synod in the
Vatican. During the video-conference some of John Paul II's speeches which
have to do with globalization will be projected. The third day will be
dedicated to the problem of the propositions and activity which must be
promoted in the Catholic university world.
Fr. Jan Peters, president of the I.F.C.U., said that the federation “is
as diverse as the world in which its members try to fulfill their mission.
Among the 200 members we find great research universities in the United
States, Europe and Japan, but also young, poor and vulnerable institutions
all over Africa; we find both universities that play a major role in the
development of modern science or the implementation of modern economy, and universities – in India, for example – that try to guarantee a future for
the underprivileged and those who are victims of the process of
globalization. This diversity in membership is a real richness for our
federation and also its major challenge.”
Fr. Peters stressed that “it belongs to the mission of a Catholic
university to strive for excellence in its teaching and research, not in a
closed atmosphere but in openness to colleagues in less favorable
circumstances who can really make an important contribution to the
awareness of the consequences of modern research.”
“The countries of our world are more and more interwoven, and at the same
time the gaps are broadening,” he added. “Our universities find their place
in and have to cope with these tendencies.” He noted that “next week's
conference will concentrate on the changing socio-economic, political and
especially cultural context of our universities. These developments – in
which our universities are both actors and victims – have a different
impact whether we are talking from the perspective of either the great,
developed research universities in the United States or the small Catholic
universities in Africa. The topics at stake are not simple ones, nor will
the conclusions be self-evident or generally accepted.”
Fr. Peters stated that “Since Catholic universities are privileged places
of reflection for our Catholic communities and for the Church as a whole, a
real and open-minded collaboration is essential for the success of their
contribution. … This presupposes what Pope John Paul II called, in his
Apostolic Constitution about Catholic universities, 'Ex corde ecclesiae', a
'mutual trust' between university people and Church leaders.”
(This update courtesy of the Vatican Information Service.)
