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1. Introduction the System of Ecclesiastical Academic Studies

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1. Introduction the System of Ecclesiastical Academic Studies 1 1. INTRODUCTION THE SYSTEM OF ECCLESIASTICAL ACADEMIC STUDIES From the moment when, through the Paschal Mystery, she received the gift of the ultimate truth about human life, the Church has made her pilgrim way along the paths of the world to proclaim that Jesus Christ is "the way, and the truth, and the life" (Jn 14:6). This mission on the one hand makes the believing community a partner in humanity's shared struggle to arrive at truth; and on the other hand it obliges the believing community to proclaim the certitudes arrived at, albeit with a sense that every truth attained is but a step towards that fullness of truth which will appear with the final Revelation of God (cf Fides et Ratio 2). The Church is asking Ecclesiastical Universities/Faculties to find a more specific place for Christian faith in the delicate dynamics of research and certainty, a better defined relationship based on presence and contact within the overall order of human culture, a more direct and immediate access to ecclesial sources in the Gospel, a confirmation of her influence in marking our moral lives (see Paul VI, To the Participants in the 2nd International Congress of the Delegates of the Academic Centers of Ecclesiastical Studies at the Vatican, Rome, December 1, 1976), based on the firm belief that Revelation is a transforming power, which is bound to pervade our ways of thinking, judgment criteria and rules governing our actions. Therefore, ecclesiastical studies make more penetrating inquiry into the various aspects of the sacred sciences so that an ever deepening understanding of sacred Revelation is obtained, the legacy of Christian wisdom handed down by our fathers is fully developed, the dialogue with our seperated brethren and with non‐Christians is fostered and answers are given to questions arising from the development of the sciences (cf Gravissimum Educationis 11). Hence, the efforts undertaken by Universities/Faculties are part of the evangelizing mission entrusted to the Church by Jesus Christ: therefore they are an ecclesial service. «The years of the higher ecclesiastical studies can be compared with the experience that the Apostles lived with Jesus: being with him, they learned the truth, to become later heralds everywhere. At the same time it is important to remember that the study of the sacred sciences must never be separated from prayer, from union with God, from contemplation ‐‐ as I recalled in the recent catechesis on medieval monastic theology ‐‐ otherwise reflections on divine mysteries run the risk of becoming a vain intellectual exercise. Every sacred science, in the end, appeals to the "science of the saints," to their intuition of the mysteries of the living God, to wisdom, which is a gift of the Holy Spirit and which is the soul of "fides quaerens intellectum" (cf General Audience, Oct. 21, 2009).» (Benedict XVI, Address to Roman Pontifical University Professors and to the Participants of the Internationl Catholic University General Assembly, Rome November 19, 2009). 2 1.1. THE NATURE OF ECCLESIASTICAL ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS The Centers for Higher Education of the Catholic Church are classified as follows depending on their purpose and academic contents: 1) Ecclesiastical Universities and Faculties, 2) Catholic Universities. Ecclesiastical Faculties can be: self‐standing, or inserted within an Ecclesiastical or a Catholic University or within a public or a private University. 1.1.1. ECCLESIASTICAL ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS Ecclesiastical Universities, Faculties and other academic institutions are engaged in teaching and researching disciplines which are related to Christian Revelation: this explains why they are connected to the evangelizing mission of the Church. These institutions are governed by a common academic legislation which applies worldwide, and is based on the Code of Canon Law (CIC) of 1983 (cann. 815‐821), on the Apostolic Constitution Sapientia Christiana of 1979 and on the CCE’s Norms of Application (Ordinationes). They grant academic degrees under the Authority of the Holy See.1 The civil recognition of ecclesiastical academic degrees must be regulated within the national legal system of the country where the institution is located, in accordance with international conventions, such as the Lisbon convention, and in compliance with existing Concordats, wherever they apply. Ecclesiastical Universities must consist of at least four Faculties, which typically include the three classical Faculties as defined by Sapientia Christiana: Theology, Canon Law and Philosophy. Each Faculty systematically probes into and deals with a specific field of knowledge according to its own peculiar scientific method. Studies are organized based on three cycles, at the end of which students are granted the corresponding academic degree: baccalaureate, licentiate and doctorate. Then there are a number of affiliated Institutes (affiliation is the connection between an Institute providing the first cycle, and a Faculty, in order to obtain corresponding academic degrees through the Faculty), aggregated Institutes (aggregation is the connection between an Institute providing only first and second cycles, and a Faculty, in order to obtain corresponding academic degrees through the Faculty) and incorporated Institutes (incorporation means being included in the Faculty of an Institute which provides for the second or third cycle or both, to obtain corresponding academic degrees through the Faculty). Higher Institutes of Religious Sciences (HIRS) only provide first and second cycle studies and are connected to an Ecclesiastical Faculty of Theology which holds academic responsibility for them. The purpose of the HIRS lies in the formation of the faithful, both lay and religious, to train them as professionals who are able to meet the cultural and operational needs of contemporary society. (Congregation for Catholic Education, Instruction on Higher Institutes of Religious Sciences, art. 2) Lastly, there are a number of Ecclesiastical academic centers which are organized as Institutes which exist separately “ad instar facultatis” or in other ways, and grant corresponding ecclesiastical titles. 1.1.2. CATHOLIC UNIVERSITIES 1 There are about 260 such Institutes of which 180 in Europe, listed in the “Index” which was prepared by the Congregation for Catholic Education in 2005. 3 Catholic Universities, distinct from Ecclesiastical Universities and Faculties, are devoted to teaching and research activities, in the light of the Catholic faith, on subjects which are commonly dealt with by all Universities. Such Universities and Institutes of Higher Studies2 grant degrees in accordance with the civil Authorities of the countries in which they are established. Therefore, the requirements which apply to the recogniton of degrees granted by Catholic Universities are the same as the ones which are used for public Universities in the same country. Catholic Universities are regulated under the CIC (cann. 807‐814), the Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae (August 15, 1990), the Norms of Application of Bishops’ Conferences and each Institute’s internal statutes. At the same time, they must comply with the legal and academic structure of their respective countries. 1.2. GOVERNING BODIES 1.2.1. SUBSIDIARITY PRINCIPLE «When one thinks about this communion, which is the force, as it were, that glues the whole Church together, then the hierarchical constitution of the Church unfolds and comes into effect. It was endowed by the Lord himself with a primatial and collegial nature at the same time when he constituted the apostles "in the form of a college or permanent assembly, at the head of which he placed Peter, chosen from amongst them [Lumen Gentium 19]» (Pastor Bonus 2). This hierarchical communion is aimed at upholding the value of the human person, giving it the possibility to trade its talents in a mutual exchange with other persons, either individually or in organizations. Ecclesiastical Universities/Faculties are complex organizations to which many people contribute with different responsibilities, and they are also part of the broader structure of the Church. Their internal and external relations are regulated by the principle of subsidiarity by which a higher ranking entity, organization or institution should not interfere in the activities of lower ranking entities by limiting their powers, but should rather support them in case of need and help them to coordinate their actions with that of its other structural elements, in order to achieve the common good. This shows how subsidiarity has a procedural and not a substantative meaning: the way in which subsidiarity should be put into practice cannot be defined once and for all, but its implementation can only be ascertained time and again through specific rules. 1.2.2. THE HOLY SEE «The Roman Pontiff has also taken pains to deal carefully with the business of particular Churches, referred to him by the bishops or in some other way come to his attention, in order to encourage his brothers in the faith (cf. Lk 22:32), by means of this wider experience and by virtue of his office as Vicar of Christ and pastor of the whole Church. For he was convinced that the reciprocal communion between the bishop of Rome and the bishops throughout the world, bonded in unity, charity, and peace, brought the greatest advantage in promoting and defending the unity of faith and discipline in the whole Church. (cf. Lumen Gentium 22; 23; 25)» (Pastor Bonus 2). Therefore, the Pope works to serve the unity of the People of God, in communion with the apostolic college and with the help of a group of assistants which make up the Roman Curia. The Congregation of Seminaries and Educational Institutions gives practical expression to the concern of the Apostolic See for the training of those who are called to holy orders, and for the promotion and organization of Catholic education (cf. Pastor Bonus 112). 2 There are more than a thousand Catholic Universities and Institutes of higher learning worldwide (cf. Congregatio de Institutione Catholica, Index, Editio 2005, Universitates et alia Instituta Studiorum Superiorum Ecclesiae Catholicae).
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