" I have only read the encyclical letter once in its entirety. A few key passages struck me as immediately relevant to my own position as a college professor and president.
What are the implications, for example, of a statement such as, "Truth needs to be sought, found, and expressed with the 'economy' of charity?" As the Holy Father goes on to say, this means—in part—that those who are the stewards of truth, must love that truth and demonstrate it in love.
Academics do not dwell much on charity or love and its relationship to the truth—or vice versa. But as the Holy Father reminds us, to know the truth entails a love of the truth; to love the truth means that we will be urged to act, to share the truth. This seems so simple as not to deserve comment, but upon reflection it is profound. As a Catholic educator, when I meditate on this, I perceive more clearly the connection between the intellectual life and the life of grace, the work that chiefly occupies the study or classroom and the broader work of evangelization."
So many Catholic in name only universities forget that their primary mission is to defend the truth and evangelize not only their students, but the wider culture as well. Notre Dame and Georgetown come to mind immediately, but sadly, they are far from unique.
So many intellectual snobs in academia are lusting after approval of the secular elite, and lose their souls in the meantime. All in the name of academic freedom.
The Holy Father is both a world-renowned intellectual and the leader of the Church. May they learn from his wisdom, submitting their own ambitions to his leadership. Or may they be replaced by the likes of Christendom, and Thomas More College of Liberal Arts.
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