Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Georgetown's “Intellectual Charity", Intriguing

Pope Addresses Catholic Educators
Officials Say Georgetown Mission of Interreligious Dialogue, Catholic Identity Falls In Line With Message of 'Intellectual Charity'
Pope Benedict XVI called on U.S. Catholic university presidents and educators to “recognize that the profound responsibility to lead the young to truth is nothing less than an act of love” during a private gathering on April 17. This is “intellectual charity,” Benedict said as he reiterated the importance of Catholic schools and expressed gratitude for educators.


These words have rippled across Georgetown administrators and provided strong encouragement for the work the university undertakes, according to senior university leaders. President John J. DeGioia, who attended the meeting, said Benedict’s words showed a “deep resonance with the values that are informing us.”


The notion of intellectual charity struck him as a poignant way of thinking about interpersonal interactions at every level of the university.


Also intrigued by the idea of intellectual charity, the Rev. Philip Boroughs, S.J., vice president for mission and ministry, said he felt prompted to consider how that “act of love” plays out at Georgetown. “This visit to the United States and the very presence of the Holy Father compels us to reflect on what it means to be Catholic and what it means to be a Catholic university,” he said.


The pontiff touched upon several key areas of Georgetown’s mission: creating students of faith, respecting academic freedom and discourse, service to the poor and making a Catholic education affordable to all who seek it.


Link to the full article (here)

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