Vatican gives Peru's Catholic university an Easter deadline

February 21, 2012

The Vatican has told officials of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru that they must bring the institution into line with Church standards by Easter Sunday, April 8.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State, met on February 21 with Marcial Rubio Correa, the rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP). Correa had been summoned to Rome after a long series of failed efforts by the Vatican to enforce the guidelines for pontifical universities set forth in the apostolic constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae. The fact that Correa met with Cardinal Bertone, the 2nd-ranking official of the Holy See, indicates the importance that the Vatican attached to the conflict.

In December, after making an apostolic visit to Peru as the Vatican’s emissary, Cardinal Peter Erdo of Budapest reported that he had been unable to persuade PUCP officials to comply with Church directives. The PUCP has also rejected an order from Peru’s courts to give the Archdiocese of Lima a seat on the institution’s board of directors.

In a statement released after Cardinal Bertone’s meeting with Correa, the Vatican alluded to the “intense dialogue and numerous meetings” with PCUP officials. The Vatican statement indicated that Cardinal Bertone had instructed Correa to revise the statues of the university and present the changes to the Vatican for approval by Easter Sunday.

The Vatican statement did not indicate what steps would be taken if PCUP officials again defied the orders from Rome.

 

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Further information:

• Communique on the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (VIS)
• Rector of Peru's pontifical university summoned to Rome to explain defiance (CWN, 2/14)