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Washington, DC--A top official at the new Vatican office tasked with overseeing Catholic educational institutions around the world praised the efforts of U.S. Catholic colleges and universities on Feb. 6, telling a national assembly of higher education leaders that the Vatican values their work and expertise. Bishop Paul Tighe, a secretary at the Dicastery for Culture and Education, reassured the hundreds of American Catholic college leaders attending an annual gathering of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities that his office sees itself primarily as a "catalyst" for conversations, and not as a doctrinal supervisor. "You are the experts in education," Tighe told the college presidents, board members and mission officers attending the Feb. 3-6 meeting. "We want to respect that. We want to encourage you to deal with the day-to-day life and challenges of your institutions." Tighe, who leads the culture wing of the new Vatican office, also suggested the U.S. higher education officials consider their institutions a "hugely privileged place" for encounters between the Catholic Church and wider American culture. For many young people, the faculty and staff at their Catholic college "become the face of the church," said the bishop. "Equally, each new generation of students is coming in from a different culture, is coming in with different sets of values ... and you're in a sense at the cutting edge of that encounter between faith and culture, between their belief systems and our belief systems." "What we want to do is encourage you to live that, to continue do it, to thank you for what you're doing, but also to maybe make it a more explicit part when you think about your mission, about your purpose," said Tighe. Read more... BY JOSHUA J. MCELWEE News Editor, National Catholic Reporter View Author Profile jmcelwee@ncronline.org Follow on Twitter at @joshjmac
Washington, DC--A top official at the new Vatican office tasked with overseeing Catholic educational institutions around the world praised the efforts of U.S. Catholic colleges and universities on Feb. 6, telling a national assembly of higher education leaders that the Vatican values their work and expertise.
Bishop Paul Tighe, a secretary at the Dicastery for Culture and Education, reassured the hundreds of American Catholic college leaders attending an annual gathering of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities that his office sees itself primarily as a "catalyst" for conversations, and not as a doctrinal supervisor.
"You are the experts in education," Tighe told the college presidents, board members and mission officers attending the Feb. 3-6 meeting. "We want to respect that. We want to encourage you to deal with the day-to-day life and challenges of your institutions."
Tighe, who leads the culture wing of the new Vatican office, also suggested the U.S. higher education officials consider their institutions a "hugely privileged place" for encounters between the Catholic Church and wider American culture.
For many young people, the faculty and staff at their Catholic college "become the face of the church," said the bishop. "Equally, each new generation of students is coming in from a different culture, is coming in with different sets of values ... and you're in a sense at the cutting edge of that encounter between faith and culture, between their belief systems and our belief systems."
"What we want to do is encourage you to live that, to continue do it, to thank you for what you're doing, but also to maybe make it a more explicit part when you think about your mission, about your purpose," said Tighe.
Read more...
BY JOSHUA J. MCELWEE
News Editor, National Catholic Reporter
View Author Profile
jmcelwee@ncronline.org
Follow on Twitter at @joshjmac