Portuguese prelate urges Catholic institutions evangelize against rationality

By Alexander Cardenas

May 06, 2023

(Photo sourced from Philstar)

CATHOLIC INSTITUTIONS must be vigilant to establish critical conscience and defend the society from extreme rationality, a Portuguese prelate said in the Saint Thomas Aquinas Forum on April 28 held at the Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, O.P. Building.

Keynote speaker Cardinal Jose de Mendonça said that students are tasked to steward Catholic institutions against extreme rationality which causes a “crisis” in religiosity.

“In this way, the crisis, which as we know, means growth can transform kairos, a favorable moment that opens us to new paths full of hope. To cope with this overall crisis, everyone has to do their part,” Mendonça said.

Catholic institutions are obligated to accompany education and learning with evangelization and serve as the society’s “critical conscience,” despite its withdrawal from political and economic power, the prelate added.

“Invest the best energy towards quality education for all, leaving any elitism and creating study opportunities for everyone, especially from developing countries, with special attention to those who will be trained to work in schools and universities, that is, for those who will assume the mission of educators,” he said.

Helmed under Mendonça’s leadership, the Dicastery for Culture and Education will relaunch a pastoral care program for Catholic universities globally. He also urged the faithful to recognize subdued religious issues in public debates, which “desensitized human conscience.”

“The Church has a public role over and above her charitable educational activities. She works for the advancement of humanity and universal family. She does not claim to cooperate with earthly powers, but to offer herself as a family among families,” Mendonça said.

Mendonça emphasized the importance of integral formation among students, which resonates with fraternity and humane acts such as community service, solidarity, and attentiveness towards the marginalized.

“Religions have always accompanied the spread of faith with the growth of charitable and social structures among which schools and institutions stand out. The first universities spring from the very heart of religion,” he said.

“We wish to exhort you to courageously carry on the mission that your university has carried out for centuries for the growth of the Asian world, continuing to be a point of reference and excellence for the whole continent and beyond.”

UST, together with Sophia University Institute and Libera Università degli Studi Maria Ss. Assunta di Roma, held the two-day forum from April 28-29 to tackle the status of cultures, education, and religions in a post-pandemic perspective.