New president says Catholic University should promote faith, encourage virtue

January 26, 2011

At his inauguration as the new president of Catholic University of America, John Garvey delivered an address that invoked the thoughts of Blessed John Henry Newman.

Garvey argues that Catholic institutions of higher learning should be leading the way in development of a distinctively Catholic culture:

We have been so intent on defending ourselves against charges of fundamentalism and censorship that we have failed to create, let alone promote, a serious Catholic intellectual culture.

This is not a purely intellectual exercise, the new president adds. Devoting much of his talk to the encouragement of virtue among students, he said:

The measure of our success is how our graduates live their daily lives: do they pray and receive the sacraments; do they love the poor; do they observe the rest of the beatitudes?

 

---

For all current news, visit our News home page.

---

 
Further information:

• Intellect and Virtue: The Idea of a Catholic University (Catholic University)