In the current era of enticing distractions, Catholic Schools urged to serve as pathways to God by the Pope
In the vibrant city of Guadalajara, Mexico, the University of the Valley of Atemajac (Univa) is hosting the 28th General Assembly of the International Federation of Catholic Universities (FIUC). The theme of the assembly, "Catholic Universities, Choreographers of Knowledge", was the focus of Pope Leo XIV's message to the participants.
The Pope emphasized that wisdom, understood as a meeting point and dialogue platform for all cultures and forms of thought, is the natural place for Catholic universities. This wisdom, he explained, is embodied in "Christ-Wisdom", a concept rooted in the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas. In Christ-Wisdom, there is both what is most proper to our faith and what is most universal in human intelligence.
Pope Leo XIV encouraged the universities to uphold their Christian identity without relativizing Christ’s unique role. While engaging respectfully and fruitfully in dialogue with other cultures and schools of thought, they should integrate faith and reason, allowing Christ—the Truth made Person—to be the guiding compass for academic pursuit and cross-cultural intellectual exchange.
The inaugural conference on academic diplomacy featured Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, Miriam Coronel Ferrer, and François Mabille. The opening day of the General Assembly was also introduced by several dignitaries, including Isabel Capeloa Gil, Cardinal José Francisco Robles Ortega, and Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonca.
The assembly will continue until August 1 and is celebrating the centennial of FIUC. During his address, Pope Leo XIV quoted St. Paul, inviting the participants to compare their current lifestyle with what they had before: "But what was the outcome of your former way of life? Its end was death". He emphasized that Christ does not come as a stranger to rational discourse, but rather as a keystone that gives meaning and harmony to all our thoughts, longings, and projects.
In his Commentary on the Sentences, St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that wisdom, whether it is an intellectual capacity or a gift of God, pertains first and foremost to the divine. This perspective underscores the unique role of Catholic universities as journeys of the mind towards God, intellectual paths guided by Christ-Wisdom.
In the words of Pope Leo XIV, these universities are "journeys of the mind towards God". They are not about distancing ourselves from Christ, nor relativizing his unique and proper place, in order to engage in respectful and fruitful conversation with other schools of thought. Instead, they are about bringing the coherence and meaning of Christ to various fields of knowledge, fostering a new evangelization in Catholic higher education.
[1] Reference: The source of this information is not explicitly stated in the provided bullet points. It is assumed that the information is derived from Pope Leo XIV's message to the participants of the General Assembly of the International Federation of Catholic Universities (FIUC).
Education-and-self-development are integral to the role of Catholic universities as journeys of the mind towards God, as emphasized by Pope Leo XIV. These universities aim to bring the coherence and meaning of Christ to various fields of knowledge, fostering a new evangelization in Catholic higher education.
In St. Thomas Aquinas's Commentary on the Sentences, wisdom is perceived as a divine intellectual capacity or a gift from God, underscoring the unique position of Catholic universities as intellectual paths guided by Christ-Wisdom.
