Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., urged the American Catholic college or university, “whatever the latest theories of professors or the inclination of students may be, [to] not forsake its Catholic allegiance.” He spoke at Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts, on October 11 during the inauguration of new president Dr. Francesco Cesareo.

With relevance for the nearby College of the Holy Cross, which has said it will defy Bishop Robert McManus and proceed with an event featuring pro-abortion Gov. Deval Patrick and Planned Parenthood, Cardinal Dulles argued the importance of conforming to “doctrinal norms”: “[T]he Church says no only in order to guide her members to a deeper yes—yes to God Who is the source of all truth and to Christ, Who said of Himself, ‘I am the truth.’”

“If the teachers are hostile to the mission of the college or indifferent about it, the college will suffer,” Cardinal Dulles warned. “It does not suffice to hire faculty who are nominally Catholic. If teachers are angry with the Church or unsympathetic toward her doctrines, no changes in the curriculum will succeed in making the institution truly Catholic.”

Cardinal Dulles praised Assumption College but criticized the movement of other Catholic colleges toward “religious studies” instead of genuine Catholic theology: “Catholic theology unfolds under the light of Catholic faith. …[A college] should provide its students with a solid introduction to Catholic theology on a level proportionate to their general education. Graduates should not go forth with an advanced education in literature and science, while remaining at the grade school level in their knowledge of their religion.”

The full text of Cardinal Dulles’ address is posted at www.assumption.edu/inauguration/dulles-address.html.