At Religious Universities, Disputes Over Faith and Academic Freedom
The situation here at Notre Dame was recently covered by the New York Times February 18 article. (Registration required)
10:07 PM
"Watching the controversy unfold at Notre Dame is Father Hesburgh, who, though long retired, retains a campus office. He said Father Jenkins's effort to define what Notre Dame stood for was important. But in an interview, Father Hesburgh also said a modern university had to face the crucial issues of the times.
'I think the real test of a great university,' he said, 'is that you are fair to the opposition and that you get their point of view out there. You engage them. You want to get students' minds working. You don't want mindless Catholics. You want intelligent, successful Catholics.'"
2 Comments:
I haven't read the main article but it would seem to me that one should only be exposed to the oposition's point of view when you are rock solid in yours . Has Catholic education for the last forty years produced young Catholics who are rock solid in their knowledge of the Faith and able to interact with the points of view of others or have we produced 'Catholics' whose Faith is rooted in very sandy soil?
"You don't want mindless Catholics. You want intelligent, successful Catholics"
Suppose a class of Catholics was taught 10 years ago by a faculty team of Ratzinger, Finnis, George, Rice, Kreeft etc etc etc, all perfectly comfortable with Ex Corde Ecclesiae.
Pray tell Fr Hesburgh, how would this have delivered today a mindless horde of unintelligent, unsuccessful Catholics whose minds aren't working?
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