ARTICLES

Will USF Be Catholic?

"YES, NO, OR MAYBE, DEPENDING ON WHO YOU ASK"

By Rich Kunz

In over nine years since Ex corde Ecclesiae, the 1990 apostolic constitution on Catholic universities, many Catholic institutions in the United States have yet to implement the Holy Father's constitution. In an email to the university community, dated February 17, 1999, Father John Schlegel, University of San Francisco's president, expressed his views on Ex corde Ecclesiae and its implementation at USF. At the outset of this message, Father Schlegel agrees with the end of the apostolic constitution. "We all have the same goals, namely to preserve and foster our Catholic identity." But later he qualifies this by saying, "We agree on the goal, namely to preserve and foster out Catholic identity; we disagree on the means to achieve this goal."

At present there are, as Father Schlegel calls them, "dialogues" between the leaders of Catholic higher education and Vatican congregations. These dialogues concern American universities' unwillingness to accept all of Ex corde Ecclesiae. In his February message, Father Schlegel said, "It is important to note that the context for this discussion is the effort over the past thirty years by Catholic colleges and universities to pursue excellence and Catholic identity within the culture of American higher education with its emphasis on institutional autonomy and academic freedom."

In Ex corde Ecclesiae, John Paul II draws a line between autonomy and license by prescribing limits to the freedoms of Catholic institutions of learning. But first, the Holy Father states that academic freedom is necessary and granted. "Every Catholic university, as a university, is an academic community which, in a rigorous and critical fashion, assists in the protection and advancement of human dignity and of a cultural heritage through research, teaching and various services offered to the local, national and international communities. It possesses that institutional autonomy necessary to perform its functions effectively and guarantees its members academic freedom, so long as the rights of the individual person and of the community are preserved within the confines of the truth and the common good."

While this statement grants a wide arena of academic freedom -- in this context, "truth and the common good" is defined so by the Magisterium, not by individual bishops. But recently, elements within the university have asserted the right to replace a Catholic chapel with an "interfaith" chapel, removal of crucifixes from classrooms, decrease in availability of the sacrament of penance, and chartering of a lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transvestite club on campus. One reason for the university's resistance to Ex corde Ecclesiae is that it could prevent such changes from occurring in the future and itsimplementation could reverse some of them.

The preface to the ordinances that John Paul II places on Catholic universities states, "Since the objective of a Catholic university is to assure in an institutional manner a Christian presence in the university world confronting the great problems of society and culture, every Catholic university, as Catholic, must have the following essential characteristics...." The document goes on to say that these characteristics are not unique to a university, but guidelines that all should follow as Catholics. "1. A Christian inspiration not only of individuals but of the university community as such; 2. 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; 3. Fidelity to the Christian message as it comes to us through the Church; and 4. 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."

In his February e-mail, Father Schlegel lists various objections to Ex corde Ecclesiae, "Let me highlight three issues. The requirement of a "mandate" for theologians, i.e., a formal acknowledgement that a Catholic theologian is teaching "in communion with" the Church. This is a very complex issue that has engaged us for almost 20 years. Bishops have a legitimate concern for the teaching of Catholic theology in our schools, but we need to find a way of responding to this concern in a way that does not make the task of the theologian even more difficult or compromise the essential integrity of our schools." Father Schlegel continues, "The mandate could discourage Catholic theologians from teaching in Catholic schools and even discourage young scholars from entering the field in the first place. Both possibilities constitute serious threats to the Catholicity of our schools, something the bishops certainly do not intend."

In his second objection to Ex corde Ecclesia, Fr. Schlegel draws a distinction between institutional faith and institutional mission, "A second issue of concern in the current draft is the requirement of a majority of "faithful Catholics" for board members and faculty in our institutions. Many bishops have themselves expressed concern with this requirement which could be so divisive on our campuses." Schlegel continues, "Many of the most effective and generous contributors have been colleagues who do not share our faith, but share our mission with great enthusiasm." Schlegel then proceeds, "A third issue is that the draft ordinances could seriously threaten public funding for our schools. The courts have held that public funding depends on institutions not being 'pervasively sectarian,' and several of our schools have already narrowly survived court tests of their 'sectarian' status." But according to Patrick Reilly, director of the Cardinal Newman Society, roughly 90 percent of public funding for a typical Catholic college does not depend on the "pervasively sectarian" clause. The vast majority of the funding is granted to the individual students in the form of Stafford Loans that are subsidized by the federal government. Reilly said, "As long as the college remains accredited, it cannot lose that funding -- accreditation committees ask, 'What is the mission statement of the school?' and the school is rated on how well they are living up to that mission statement." The Holy Father's suggestion on this point in Ex corde is that, "Every Catholic university is to make known its Catholic identity, either in a mission statement or in some other appropriate public document..." According to Reilly, after considering direct grants to students, the remaining percentage of a typical Catholic university's funding is granted to the school in various forms that generally include federal research grants and capital grants. These are given to an institution to aid the cause of research and assist in the development of buildings. This minimal percentage may be subject to the sectarian clause. Reilly said, "The understanding of 'pervasively sectarian' is so narrow, there is no concern that a Catholic university may be deemed such."

In defense of USF's Catholicity, Father Schlegel poses a question in a speech that can be found on USF's website, (http://www.usfca.edu/schlegel/speech6.html), "The question," Father Schlegel asks, "'Can Catholic education, at any level produce active and participating Catholics?'" To which he answers, "The answer is a resounding yes, no, or maybe, depending on who you ask. I am not going to answer the question head-on, but rather shape the context for the question and for a possible answer." He then lays out three factors: students, faculty and the external environment. As to the second, Father Schlegel first appears to agree with the Holy Father on the importance of the faculty. "When all is said and done, the faculty is the most crucial group when it comes to the Catholicity of an institution." "But," he adds, "quite frankly, the Catholic perspective does not sell books nor does it generate grants." Father Schlegel finishes this speech by addressing his opening question, "I am sorry I cannot give you a pat answer to my challenging topic...but what I can say, by way of conclusion, is that institutions like the University of San Francisco work very hard at being Catholic."

Although there has been opposition to the Holy Father's constitution by many Catholic universities in America, a handful of Catholic universities are embracing Ex corde Ecclesiae. Two of these schools include Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, and Loyola University in Chicago. Both of these schools share the Jesuit Charter with USF and yet are choosing to conform their curriculum and campus life to Pope John Paul II's decrees. Another such school is Thomas Aquinas College, located in Santa Paula, California. The college was founded in 1971 and has declared obedience to the Holy See from the outset. Thomas Aquinas College takes the approach that Catholic education can both be enthusiastically Catholic and rigorous in its academic life. The college has taken the oath to the Magisterium, as required by the ordinances of Ex corde Ecclesiae. David Shaneyfelt from Thomas Aquinas College said, "This was not a big step for the college. The oath was a more formal declaration of our founding philosophy." The opening lines of the oath state, "I ... promise that I shall always preserve communion with the Catholic Church whether in the words I speak or in the way I act. With great care and fidelity I shall carry out the responsibilities by which I am bound in relation both to the universal church and to the particular church in which I am called to exercise my service according to the requirements of the law."

Father Paul Bernardicou, chair of theology at USF did not return my call. Due to his busy travel schedule, Father Schlegel referred my questions to his provost, James Wiser. When asked if USF intended to have the faculty, particularly the theology professors take the oath, Wiser responded, "That is not possible to answer at this point. It is tough to speculate about the particulars. I only know that John [Father Schlegel] shares the concerns of many presidents in the implementation of the document." Wiser did state, after questioning, "As a distinction, John does not disagree with the document Ex corde Ecclesiae, but rather the ordinances."