An originating Jesuit mission at the university

Robert John Araujo, S.J., the John Courtney Murray, S.J. Professor of Law at Loyola University Chicago, writes in Mirror of Justice about the Atlantic story about Jesuit universities (my post on that essay here). His is a bracing call to revisit the originating mission of the Society of Jesus in its approach to education.

He writes that a prominent problem at many universities is the closing down of authentic academic freedom:

First of all, universities today—including those claiming to be Catholic and/or Jesuit—sustain a climate in which certain issues (for example: abortion; sexual and gender identity; sexual morality) which need to be discussed and debated are off limits. To borrow from one prominent American politician, certain matters are “sacred ground” and cannot be questioned.

He emphasizes the point further:

These subjects are off the table. If you choose to raise them, you do so at your own peril. While the much-celebrated virtue of critical thinking requires patience, objectivity, and respect for and understanding of opposing views, it also mandates the inclusion of pressing issues that requires careful and courageous examination if the truth of the matter is to be sought.

Araujo takes particular issue with the author’s use of the phrase “religious ideology.” She describes colleges and universities, including Jesuit ones, as “places where young adults are encouraged to think critically and to explore variations in religious ideology.” Araujo comments:

The choice of the word “ideology” is an interesting one. I would think that if the nature of critical thinking within the realm of Catholic and Jesuit education is being explored, the far better word would be “belief” rather than “ideology”. The term “ideology” might seem to equate tenets of faith, especially those of Catholicism as the subject of Jesuit universities is on the table, with political or other non-religious dogmas. One interviewee pointed out the importance for the members of the university to ask the “meaning questions” regarding faith; in this person’s estimation, the framework for doing this is to take the approach of “invitation Catholicism versus command Catholicism.” I do not think it is really a question of attempting to distinguish “invitation” from “command” Catholicism. Rather, it is a question of whether the Catholic faith and the Church’s teachings are “clearly stated and articulately defended… in a spirit of dialogue that is proper to an academic setting… [noting that] the strength of these teachings will be quite convincing, based as they are on revealed truth.”

A key, he writes, is that those who follow Christ must be courageous in doing so in the modern academy.

Christ acknowledged that he is the way, the truth, and life; yet, many well-intentioned folks, including a good number of members of Catholic and Jesuit university communities, deny His claim. Taking stock of legitimate academic freedom, this is an odd response especially for those engaged in a work that uses the name of the Society of Jesus.

He points to the founding document of the Jesuit order Regimini Militantis Ecclesiae, citing this excerpt:

Whoever desires to serve as a soldier of God beneath the banner of the cross in our Society, which we desire to be designated by the name of Jesus, and to serve the Lord alone and the Church, His spouse, under the Roman pontiff, the vicar of Christ on earth, should…keep what follows in mind. He is a member of a Society founded chiefly for this purpose: to strive especially for the defense and propagation of the faith and for the progress of souls in Christian life and doctrine.

Araujo laments, though, that there is lacking a strong sense of shared mission among those interviewed for the essay. There is rather, he suggests a vague commitment to social justice:

Without further definition (none is offered), this term that presumably characterizes Jesuit institutions is vacuous. Can you think of any institution of higher education that makes the claim that it is for social injustice? Probably not. If social justice is to mean anything for Catholic educational institutions, it must be presented within the framework of the justice of Christ.

Read the whole thing here.