Pope Francis greets Isabel Capeloa Gil, rector of the Catholic University of Portugal and president of the International Federation of Catholic Universities, during an audience with federation members in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican Jan. 19, 2024. Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, looks on. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
From The National Catholic Reporter:
"The goal for Catholic universities cannot be limited to improved programs, facilities and income, the pope said.
'A greater passion must animate the university, as evidenced in a shared search for truth, a greater horizon of meaning, lived out in a community of knowledge where the liberality of love is palpable,' Francis said.
St. Augustine, as the philosopher Hannah Arendt noted, "described love with the word 'appetitus,' understood as inclination, desire, striving," he wrote. "My advice to you, then, is this: Don't lose your 'appetitus.'"
'It is not enough to award academic degrees,' the pope said. 'It is necessary to awaken and cherish in each person the desire to "be." It is not enough to prepare students for competitive careers: It is necessary to help them discover fruitful vocations, to inspire pathways of authentic existence and to integrate the contribution of each individual within the creative dynamics of the larger community.'"
Read more.
"The goal for Catholic universities cannot be limited to improved programs, facilities and income, the pope said.
'A greater passion must animate the university, as evidenced in a shared search for truth, a greater horizon of meaning, lived out in a community of knowledge where the liberality of love is palpable,' Francis said.
St. Augustine, as the philosopher Hannah Arendt noted, "described love with the word 'appetitus,' understood as inclination, desire, striving," he wrote. "My advice to you, then, is this: Don't lose your 'appetitus.'"
'It is not enough to award academic degrees,' the pope said. 'It is necessary to awaken and cherish in each person the desire to "be." It is not enough to prepare students for competitive careers: It is necessary to help them discover fruitful vocations, to inspire pathways of authentic existence and to integrate the contribution of each individual within the creative dynamics of the larger community.'"
Read more.