Rev.
Donald J. Harrington, C.M., President of St. John’s University
gives his candid comments (below) on Pope Benedict XVI’s Papal
Visit to the United States (April 15-20) and discusses his upcoming
meeting with the Holy Father and Catholic Leaders in Washington,
D.C. on April 17 at Catholic University.
Q: What’s your reaction to the Pope coming
to America and visiting New York City?
A: “I think it’s absolutely wonderful. Normally, it’s a
special time of renewal for everyone regardless of their religion
or faith. I think the presence of someone who is so much a key
player on the world stage – and a man of faith – will make it
historic. Everyone respects the Pope and I think we will see that
from the moment he lands in New York until the moment he
leaves.”
Q: What do you think the Pope’s message
will be for Catholics?
A: “I think the message will be to be faithful to the Gospel and
Church teaching. In addition, I’m sure he will remind people of
those values which he perceives as having special significance for
the American Church in 2008.”
Q: You will be in attendance at the
meeting that the Pope intends to hold with Presidents from Catholic
Universities and Colleges. What will you take from this
meeting?
A: “It’s an interesting experience for me for many reasons but
particularly I would emphasize this:
During his 1987 visit to the U,S., Pope John Paul II called a
meeting of the Presidents of the Catholic Colleges and Universities
at Xavier University in New Orleans. I was present at that meeting
as President of Niagara University. I believe that is the
only other time in history such a meeting has occurred. It was a
wonderful experience and the Holy Father delivered a very
inspirational message.
And now experiencing -- some 21 years later -- yet another Pope
coming and meeting with a similar group – will give me a unique
perspective. I doubt that there will be many others who will have
been at both gatherings, because Presidents don’t usually serve for
too long. Being at both meetings will give me, I believe, an
extraordinary opportunity to assess what the impact has been since
Pope John Paul II’s message to the Presidents and how
Catholic Colleges and Universities have changed and become stronger
as a result of that. So I’m excited from a historical perspective
to be able to be one of those few people who will have been present
on both occasions and be able to assess them from that
perspective.”
Q: What was Pope John Paul’s message and
what was the direction he advocated for Catholic Colleges and
Universities?
A: In what was a long talk, Pope John Paul II reminded us
that Catholic institutions are part of the Church and that we must
always be mindful of the strong and special relationship that we
have with the Church. That relationship does not bring control or
restrictions, he emphasized, but, rather, it enhances us because
our teaching and functioning as a University is enriched by the
Gospel message.
And so, what he was really saying to us was, “Examine that and
go back and look at how faithful you are to your Catholic identity
– to the Gospel. Ask whether you are faithful to what you proclaim
yourself to be and how you can become stronger.”
At that time, in 1987, he told us he was gathering groups to
articulate the message even more fully. And so, in the early 90’s,
he published Ex Corde Ecclesiae, – a Papal document in Latin which
means From the Heart of the Church. What that phrase says is that
Catholic Colleges and Universities spring from the heart of the
church and are truly central to what the Church is about.
And the Holy Father went on in his talk as well as in this
document to call Catholic universities to really appreciate and
fully embody that richness.
Q: Do you think the Pope’s words will be
similar this time around?
A: I would think that the challenges and changes that have occurred
in the world will be discussed. We’re preparing students now for a
global marketplace and workforce. Technology and communication have
transformed the world in so many ways during the last 20-plus
years. I would think that Pope Benedict has already identified the
special challenges those transformations bring to Catholic
Universities.
Both John Paul II and Benedict XVI were University faculty
members before they became Bishops so they know what University
life is like –and I’m very confident that the current Holy Father
will be able to call us forth, perhaps to values and challenges
that are particularly relevant to the current time.
Another thing I would like to emphasize, to reports that Pope
Benedict is really going to ‘put it to us – that we’re not faithful
enough.’ I remember vividly that John Paul, during his 1987 talk,
was strong and clear in his words, but he did not bang on the
podium or reprimand anyone. Rather than saying things that might
have been polarizing, he called us all together to pursue the
values that he regarded as essential. I think that Pope Benedict
will take the same approach.
Q: There are so many changes on college
campuses today, especially diversity in race, religion, and ethnic
backgrounds that was not evident years ago. Can you talk about that
change in the college landscape?
A: Our University is probably one of the most diverse in terms of
race and religion. While I have no idea whether Pope Benedict will
discuss diversity, I have no doubt that he would celebrate
it., recognizing that a University can espouse the search for truth
and remain true to the value of academic freedom while still
remaining faithful to the Church.
Q. How freely can St. John’s live out its
Catholic identity in the midst of such a diverse
community?
A: We had a wonderful experience this past January when the senior
leadership at St. John’s (what we call our Executive Planning
Committee) came together for a two-day seminar on the topic “Our
Identity as a Catholic University.”
The highpoint was a panel discussion by our students, who talked
about how they have experienced St. John’s as a Catholic
University. Four of those students were not Catholic (one was a
Muslim and three others were from other Christian denominations)
and four were Catholics.
It was remarkable to hear all of them, but in a special way, the
non-Catholics talk of the richness of their experiences and what it
has meant to them to attend St. John’s – a Catholic University -
and how that has enhanced their educational experience while at the
same time helping them to grow in their own faith. They emphasized
how they came to understand, because of our required courses (three
theology courses and three philosophy courses), what Catholicism is
all about. That to me is what a Catholic University should do
for its students.
Q: Do you think there is a
misunderstanding among students that Catholic Universities are
going to try to convert them?
A: I definitely think that and I also think they’re fearful that a
Catholic University is going to be more restrictive. I admit that
there are a number of areas that are sensitive. For example – we
wouldn’t want a speaker to come on campus and speak about
pro-abortion topics, but if there were someone in an academic
context who was going to speak about pro-choice, then we would also
want to make sure there was someone to talk about the pro life
position and make their point very clear as well as the University
and Church’s position on the subject matter. So it would be a
balance.
Q: What is the religious and ethnic
composition of the student body at St. John’s?
A: St. John’s is 50% Catholic. The other 50% consists of
representatives from almost every religion in the world. It’s
absolutely astounding.
In terms of racial diversity, we are just slightly below 50%
Caucasian, about 10% do not identify themselves, and the remaining
40% are divided equally among African-Americans, Asian-Americans
and Hispanics. So we are incredibly diverse.
Q: We hear so much about the Catholic
Church having financial problems across the country and especially
here in New York. Do you think the Pope will be talking about that
– and are there the same economic concerns among Catholic Colleges
and Universities?
A: Almost every Catholic College and University is totally
independent, financially, of the Church. We are supported by our
tuition and our donations. That is how we function here at St.
John’s – so yes, we have to bring in students to pay our bills –
but thank God St. John’s is blessed. We recently surpassed 39,000
applications for the freshman class and we will enroll between
3,100 and 3,200 of those applicants this September. I am not going
to be complacent about that, but we are blessed because many, many
people want to come to St. John’s and be a part of us – Catholic
and non-Catholic students alike. That is our strength today, and I
pray that it will continue to be our strength in the future.