The Idea of a Catholic University » (1)

George Dennis O'Brien is president emeritus of the University of Rochester and former president of Bucknell University. He is the author of a number of books, including What to Expect from College and All the Essential Half-Truths about Higher Education, the latter published by the University of Chicago Press.

George Bernard Shaw thought that a Catholic university was a contradiction in terms—"university" represents intellectual freedom and "Catholic" represents dogmatic belief. Scholars, university administrators, and even the Vatican have staked out positions debating Shaw's observation. In this refreshing book, George Dennis O'Brien argues that contradiction arises both from the secular university's limited concept of academic freedom and the church's defective notion of dogma.

Truth is a central concept for both university and church, and O'Brien's book is built on the idea that there are different areas of truth—scientific, artistic, and religious—each with its own proper warrant and "method." In this light, he argues that one can reverse Shaw's comparison and uncover academic dogma and Christian freedom, university "infallibility" and dogmatic "fallibility."

Drawing on theology and the history of philosophy, O'Brien shows how religious truth relates to the work of a Catholic university. He then turns to the current controversies over Pope John Paul II's recent statement, Ex Corde Ecclesiae, which seeks to make Catholic universities conform to the church's official teaching office. O'Brien rejects the conventional "institutional-juridical" model used by the Vatican as improper both to faith and academic freedom. He argues for a "sacramental" model, one that respects the different kinds of "truth"—thus preserving the integrity of both church and university while making their combination in a Catholic university not only possible but desirable. O'Brien concludes with a practical consideration of how the ideal Catholic university might beexpressed in the actual life of the contemporary curriculum and extracurriculum.

For anyone concerned about the place of religion in higher education, The Idea of a Catholic University will be essential reading.

Introduction
1. Biblical Foundations of the Modern University
2. Science: The Truth of Universities
3. Art: Signatured Truth
4. Religion: Truth of Presence
5. "I Am the Truth"
6. Academic Dogma and Catholic Freedom
7. Fallible Church and Infallible Academy or Infallible Church and Fallible Academy
8. A Thought Experiment: A Holocaust University
9. Ex Corde Ecclesiae
10. Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi
11. A Contrarian University
12. Practical/Praxis Postscript Notes Index