Page 14 - The Gonzaga Record 1989
P. 14
programs for students, faculty and staff. It should involve a pastoral
concern which gives an added dimension to all relationships among
members of the academic community. Without such pastoral care, our
education runs the risk of remaining cerebral, not fully human in its
quest for God's love and guidance ....
Our Mission Today
Throughout my remarks today I have made explicit and implicit
references to our mission. The service of faith and promotion of justice
remains the Society's major apostolic focus. Given the number of Jesuits
we have involved in the educational apostolate in the United States, I am
convinced that this mission simply will not be fulfilled if the education
sector does not have a profound faith in it. And that is why it is urgent
that this mission, which is profoundly linked with our preferential love
for the poor, be operative in your lives and in your institutions. It must
be up front, on the table. And I take this to mean that it must, in
whatever suitable form, be expressed in your institutional mission
statements.
Words have meaning; if a college or university describes itself as
"Jesuit" or "in the Jesuit tradition", the thrust and practice of the
institution should correspond to that description. It should be operative
in a variety of ways. The recruitment of students must include special
efforts to make a Jesuit education possible for the disadvantaged. But let
it be noted, and let there be no misunderstanding: the option for the poor
is not an exclusive option, it is not a classist option. We are not called
upon to educate only the poor, the disadvantaged. The option is far more
comprehensive and demanding, for it calls upon us to educate all - rich,
middle class and poor - from a perspective of justice. Ignatius wanted
Jesuit schools to be open to all; the Gospel reveals that the love of God
is universal.
Given the special love we have for the poor, we educate all social classes
so that young people from every stratum of society may learn and grow
in the special love of Christ for the poor. Concern for social problems
should never be absent; we should challenge all of our students to use the
option for the poor as a criterion, making no significant decision without
first thinking of how it would impact the least in society.
This has serious implications for curricula, for development of critical
thinking and values, for interdisciplinary studies for all, for campus
environment, for service and immersion experiences, for community ....
12
concern which gives an added dimension to all relationships among
members of the academic community. Without such pastoral care, our
education runs the risk of remaining cerebral, not fully human in its
quest for God's love and guidance ....
Our Mission Today
Throughout my remarks today I have made explicit and implicit
references to our mission. The service of faith and promotion of justice
remains the Society's major apostolic focus. Given the number of Jesuits
we have involved in the educational apostolate in the United States, I am
convinced that this mission simply will not be fulfilled if the education
sector does not have a profound faith in it. And that is why it is urgent
that this mission, which is profoundly linked with our preferential love
for the poor, be operative in your lives and in your institutions. It must
be up front, on the table. And I take this to mean that it must, in
whatever suitable form, be expressed in your institutional mission
statements.
Words have meaning; if a college or university describes itself as
"Jesuit" or "in the Jesuit tradition", the thrust and practice of the
institution should correspond to that description. It should be operative
in a variety of ways. The recruitment of students must include special
efforts to make a Jesuit education possible for the disadvantaged. But let
it be noted, and let there be no misunderstanding: the option for the poor
is not an exclusive option, it is not a classist option. We are not called
upon to educate only the poor, the disadvantaged. The option is far more
comprehensive and demanding, for it calls upon us to educate all - rich,
middle class and poor - from a perspective of justice. Ignatius wanted
Jesuit schools to be open to all; the Gospel reveals that the love of God
is universal.
Given the special love we have for the poor, we educate all social classes
so that young people from every stratum of society may learn and grow
in the special love of Christ for the poor. Concern for social problems
should never be absent; we should challenge all of our students to use the
option for the poor as a criterion, making no significant decision without
first thinking of how it would impact the least in society.
This has serious implications for curricula, for development of critical
thinking and values, for interdisciplinary studies for all, for campus
environment, for service and immersion experiences, for community ....
12
