The Christian in public life

In this brief article, I will reflect on how Catholic university students can embody the Catholic intellectual tradition in their professional and personal lives. To do this, we must be aware of what we mean by Catholic intellectual tradition.

To be clear, Catholic intellectual tradition refers to how the Christian community has engaged (and still engages) with the complex world of ideas through the lens of faith and reason. When the early Christians sought to align their new beliefs first with Jewish thought and then with the world of Greek philosophy, they were offering us an example of the seeds of the Catholic intellectual tradition. This historical reality reveals a nascent Church that is outward-facing, open to dialogue and seeking to frame its core beliefs so that they would be heard and understood by their interlocutors. It would take many books to offer a detailed treatment of how the Church has continued to engage in this important mission ad extra. We think in particular of the rise of the European universities ex corde ecclesiae and of the extent to which contemporary universities, whether Catholic or secular, can offer society and individuals the means of human flourishing. ad extra. Let us think in particular of the emergence of European universities ex corde ecclesiae and the extent to which contemporary universities, whether Catholic or secular, can offer society and individuals the means for human development.

The purpose of the university

To keep the focus on the university, it is necessary also to anchor our thinking on the purpose of the university in society. Is it first and foremost a place of credentialism? How can students and staff work together to explore common aims? Indeed is it possible for staff and students to share objectives? These are important issues and need serious thought. This is where deep engagement with the Catholic intellectual tradition can help Catholic academics to contribute meaningfully to wider theoretical debates in both Catholic and secular institution.

One question that arises in the debate surrounding the Catholic intellectual tradition is whether it allows sufficient scope for the exercise of individual academic freedom. Popular discourse often caricatures Christian belief, and any other religious belief, as constraining and limiting the important exercise of individual freedom. In this worldview, religion is a burden that must be lifted if human freedom is to be appreciated and promoted. The Christian view of freedom, however, focuses on how freedom is about having the ability to do what is right and encouraging others to follow the path of virtue. It is not to be confused with an autonomous "right" to do what we want, when we want.

University culture

The concept of intellectual culture provides a useful entry point to this and related debates. Culture, of course, is a term much discussed in academic journals and monographs. It is also part of the broader vocabulary of society: soccer coaches try to integrate a certain culture into their teams, companies can take pride in their collegial and ethical culture, and so on. For the Catholic intellectual, culture has a different root: it comes from liturgy (cultus) and refers to how liturgy should be the root and inspiration for the way we love, the choices we make, and the way we develop our relationships.

This leads, of course, to another question: how can the liturgy be an inspiration for the Church’s intellectual apostolate? First, and in broad terms, the liturgy is the public worship of the Christian community. It is where the baptised gather to celebrate the goodness of God and to receive His grace. This provides the inspiration for each of the baptised in the exercise of their particular vocation, the academic no less than the shopkeeper. Second, as the liturgy is a public event and not a private ceremony for selected individuals, it has a natural overflow in the world of ideas, theories, philosophies and such like. 

Pragmatism and the search for truth

Pondering such issues collectively has pedagogical consequences. In particular, it opens the question of how to find and engage with truth. 

One way forward is to reconsider the relationship between ratio and intellectus as forms of knowledge. The former refers to how we use reason to evaluate, discuss, assess; the latter shows a more contemplative approach that recognizes the limits of the former and seeks to ground our search for meaning in a deeper reality. It is through the intellectus that the Christian scholar, through prayerful study and a mind open to the transcendent, can find the light that complements the exercise of ratio.

To explore such questions leads us, almost inevitably, to the work of St John Henry Newman on the intellect. As is well known today, Newman would be content with the university as a site of pure intellectual culture with no explicit practical aims to the university syllabus. Whether such a position is tenable today is another question for another time. Newman was also aware that the mind enlightened by a refined intellectual culture could not be anything but a positive influence on wider society. This is an important dimension of Newman’s thoughts, as is his insistence that there should be no gap between serious theological study and the exercise of piety.

To move forward in line with Newman’s thinking, here are three things to think about as we reflect on the place of the Catholic intellectual in the Church and society today.

Show in our work how all that we do is to be done to the highest human appropriate the various aids available for the effective dissemination of ideas.

Read well and often. Love the classic texts and seek new works and authors. Build professional relationships with people who are trying to contribute something meaningful to debates.

Take the initiative to contribute in a positive way to the development of new ideas. Be there at the start, middle and end of conversations around policies and practices.

To conclude, let’s refresh our mind with some words of Pope Francis on why we renew our dedication to the study of Church history. In his recent letter on this topic, Pope Francis says:

"A proper sense of history can help each of us to develop a better sense of proportion and perspective in coming to understand reality as it is and not as we imagine it or would prefer reality to be. Setting aside dangerous and disembodied abstractions, we are able to relate to reality as it summons us to ethical responsibility, sharing and solidarity".

The audience for this letter is primarily priests and those preparing for priesthood. Nonetheless, his words capture something essential about academic study and how ideas need to be assessed in an honest way. The Christian intellectual should take these words to heart.