The Catholic Weekly 16 August 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 10 NEWS 16, August, 2020 THIS MONTH we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the publication of St John Paul II’s Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae (From the Heart of the Church), proba- bly the most pivotal Church document in recent times on the understanding of the mission and nature of Catho- lic universities. As a step toward strength- ening the Catholic identity of Catholic universities and thus responding to the Sec- ond Vatican Council’s call for a renewal of all aspects of the Church’s life, this docu- ment drew upon on the rich understandings of Catholic education that emerged out of the Second Vatican Coun- cil, Gravissimum Educationis (Vatican Council II, 1965b) which said that a prudent balance must be struck be- tween due regard for aca- demic autonomy and due consideration for the truths of the Catholic faith. For universities such as Australian Catholic Univer- sity (ACU), the 30th anni- versary of Ex Corde Ecclesiae presents an opportune mo- ment for all of us involved in Catholic higher education to re-examine the character and role of our Catholic universi- ties in light of their deepest purpose. One of the clear intentions of Ex Corde Ecclesiae was to recall and emphasise the two basic pillars of Catholic universities’ mission and dis- tinctive character: the pursuit of the unity of knowledge and the ultimate complementari- ty of faith and reason. These two principles guide and in- form all aspects of a genuine Catholic university educa- tion, whether in the arts and humanities, the professions or the sciences. And it is these princi- ples that guide what we do and how we do it at ACU. As Australia’s largest Catholic university, our mission un- derscores everything we do as a university – whether it’s in our teaching and learning, our research, our communi- ty engagement and our out- reach. For example, our Core Curriculum ensures that all of our undergraduate stu- dents have the opportunity to engage with the principles of Catholic Social Teaching and integrate them into their academic and professional development learnings, while our staff formation programs invite all our staff [whether Catholic or not] to consid- er what it means for them to contribute to the unique mis- sion of all Catholic university. ACU’s mission compels all our staff and students to contribute to communities guided by a commitment to serving all. As a Catholic uni- versity, community engage- ment is part of our DNA. It is in how we teach, how our students learn, what our staff research, and is the way we interact with our communi- ties and the world around us. All of this of course, in un- derpinned by a constancy to our vibrant faith traditions that are lived out daily across our campuses including in our liturgical life, our pasto- ral care for students and staff and expressions of our faith manifest in the university’s growing Catholic art collec- tion. As St John Paul II so elo- quently put it “[a Catholic university] shares that Gaud- ium de Veritate , so precious to St. Augustine, which is that joy of searching for, discover- ing and communicating truth in every field of knowledge.” May ACU, and all our Catho- lic universities universally continue to strive for this mission. (See St. Augustine, Confes- sions, X, xxiii, 33, quoted in Ex Corde Ecclesiae, art. 1) Professor Greg Craven is Vice-Chancellor and Presi- dent of Australian Catholic University Celebrating the 30th anniversary of Ex Corde Ecclesiae Professor Greg Craven ACU The 30th anniversary of Ex Corde Ec- clesiae presents an opportune moment for all of us involved in Catholic higher education to re-examine the character and role of our Catholic universities” CRICOS reg: 00004G VIRTUAL 29 Aug 5 Sep 12 Sep Discover our new Blacktown Campus. openday.acu.edu.au ADVERTORIAL