The Ecclesiology of Catholic University Mission: Learning from John Henry Newman and Vatican II

Abstract

Catholic universities in the United States have developed complexity reflective of the larger development of modern universities and “multiversities.” This complexity, together with the decline in the numbers of sponsoring religious orders and diocesan priests, presents new challenges for the sustaining of a theologically rooted, ecclesially oriented mission. This essay draws from the writings of John Henry Newman as a resource for considering the challenges of integration of knowledge, and goes on to examine the documents of the Second Vatican Council as foundations for discussing a contemporary ecclesiology of Catholic university mission, its proyecto social, amidst the complexities of university life.