RECEIVING THE MESSAGE OF POPE BENEDICT XVI
Opinion
by Rev. Mark T. Cregan, C.S.C.
The Sunday Enterprise
April 20, 2008

Like a guest entering our home and reminding us of our family blessings, Pope Benedict XVI has come to the United States this week and has encouraged all Americans to live by the ideals and principles that guided our nation’s founding. In his homilies, addresses and messages to various groups, he has never failed to recognize what is good about America and its people while at the same time noting that we have not as yet fully realized our potential.

His arrival in the United States to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the first American, Catholic Archdiocese in Baltimore and the creation of four new suffragen, or subordinate, dioceses – Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Louisville – provides him and us the opportunity both to reflect upon the growth of the Catholic Church over the last two centuries and to encourage the Catholic community to continue to be active and engaged participants in the building up of this nation. 

For the Catholic community, the Pope comes as a pastor reminding us that evangelization or the spreading of the faith is central to the mission of the church in every place and in every age. And he recognizes the complexity of the task of faith formation in American society.

In a response to a question posed by the U.S. Catholic Bishops concerning the twin challenges to the faith of increasing secularism in public life and relativism in intellectual life, the Pope noted that “American society has always been marked by a fundamental respect for religion and its public role, and, if polls are to be believed, the American people are deeply religious.” 

But he goes on to say, “it is not enough to count on this traditional religiosity and go about business as usual,” but that we must diagnose “the real challenges the Gospel encounters in contemporary American culture” if the Church is to pursue successfully authentic evangelization.

Participating in his address to American Catholic educators, it was clear to me that Pope Benedict respects and appreciates the tremendous efforts made by the American Church to build a strong educational network. The education of successive generations of immigrant children and young adults has been and continues to be a hallmark of Catholic education in the United States.

The Pope recognized that it was precisely education that allowed immigrant children to rise out of poverty and become part of the mainstream of American society. He also recognized the heroic efforts of educators like saints Elizabeth Ann Seton and Katharine Drexel, the latter educating African Americans and Native Americans who were neglected by others, as they built networks of schools throughout this nation.

In this context, Pope Benedict challenged us as a community to ensure that a Catholic education remains accessible to those of all social and economic strata and that education remains a priority of the Catholic community in the United States.

But the Pope also challenged us to reflect on the nature and identity of our Catholic institutions. For Pope Benedict, “a university or school’s Catholic identity is not simply a question of the number of Catholic students. It is a question of conviction – do we really believe that only in the mystery of the Word made flesh does the mystery of man truly become clear.”

He believes that in the pursuit of truth – in all of its complexity and with all of our human limitations – we will discover the core of what it means to be human which, for a believer, means union with God but for all of us also means living lives of integrity. 

The Pope recognizes that this pursuit of truth in the light of faith can be a uniquely Catholic contribution to American intellectual life and society which, at its core, seeks to govern and lead by affirming and respecting the dignity of every human being. 

In some ways, he sees this vision of education as an antidote to other aspects of American culture which sometimes raise the pursuit of material possessions to that of a “divine right.” For the Pope, it is not simply “the acquisition of knowledge” which is central to true learning but the pursuit of truth in the light of faith which demands critical thinking, and open and rigorous inquiry.

For this reason, Benedict can reaffirm the importance of academic freedom as scholars seek truth in every academic discipline.

The theme the Pope’s visit is that of “Christ Our Hope.” Certainly for those of us involved in Catholic education in this country, the Pope’s message is both encouraging and challenging as we prepare future generations of students for leadership in our country and our world. 

Like a good guest, as the Pope returns to Rome, he leaves with us the memories of a good visit, renewed energy to accomplish our mission and the challenge of living up to the best aspects of ourselves.

Rev. Cregan, C.S.C., president of Stonehill College, met with the pope last week when the pontiff addressed Catholic educators in Washington, D.C.

04/20/08