Outgoing CUA president laments ‘confusion’ about Catholic identity in higher education
.- Catholic higher education in the U.S. needs more guidance because of “confusion” about Catholic identity, the outgoing president of Catholic University of America has commented. An official with the U.S. bishops’ conference says that a review of Catholic higher ed is upcoming and that many schools are trying to put their Catholicity into practice.
Msgr. David O’Connell in March had a 70-minute audience with Cardinal Zenon Grocholweski, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education. The monsignor told the Washington Times he wanted to converse with the cardinal about Catholic identity, "Ex Corde Ecclesiae" and the Land O’Lakes statement.
"Ex Corde Ecclesiae", a 1990 Vatican document, outlines the requirements for the governance and structuring of Catholic universities. The Land O’Lakes statement, which claimed autonomy from the Church in the name of academic freedom, was signed in Wisconsin in 1967 by 26 Catholic university presidents and other officials, according to the Washington Times.
Msgr. O’Connell stated that the 1967 statement had introduced “confusion” into the Church.
Another source of confusion, in his view, was President Obama’s invitation to deliver the commencement speech and to receive an honorary degree at the University of Notre Dame, despite the U.S. bishops’ statement that universities are not to honor pro-abortion rights public speakers.
"Obama goes to Notre Dame and everyone gets their pants in a twist; 80 bishops pile on saying Notre Dame shouldn't have done that; the president comes and gives a speech,” he told the Washington Times. However, the university “still turns away 1,000 students; they still get a million dollars in contributions; they honor the [papal] nuncio. ... They're back in the good graces of the church - what happened as a result of this?”
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