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The Intellectual Appeal of Catholicism and the Idea of a Catholic University

Mark W. Roche
Foreword by Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C.

“A deeply thoughtful articulation of an enduring and appealing ideal. It is an ideal with a resonance beyond the world of Catholic higher education for all in the academy who still respond to the beckoning vision of the ultimate unity of all human knowing and who view it, indeed, as a necessary inspiration if we are to succeed in according to our intellectual activities the sort of seriousness and moral significance they properly deserve.” —Francis Oakley, President Emeritus, Williams College

“There is a real need, indeed an absolute necessity, for a Catholic university that is true to its religious values. By so being, it makes other, non-Catholic institutions that much better.” —E. Gordon Gee, Chancellor, Vanderbilt University

“Dean Roche has done a rare thing. He has articulated a sharp and clear Catholic theology of Christian higher education. What has been implicit in the practice of great Catholic universities has now been made explicit in this fine essay.” —Robert Benne, author of Quality with Soul: How Six Premier Colleges and Universities Keep Faith with Their Religious Traditions

Mark W. Roche presents a clear, precise, and positive view of the challenge and promise of a Catholic university. Roche makes visible the ideal of a Catholic university and illuminates in original ways the diverse, but interconnected, dimensions of Catholic identity. Roche’s vision of the distinct intellectual mission of a Catholic university will appeal to Catholics as well as to persons who are not Catholic but who may recognize through this essay the unexpected allure of a Catholic university.

MARK W. ROCHE is I. A. O’Shaughnessy Dean of the College of Arts and Letters at the University of Notre Dame, where he also holds appointments as the Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C. Professor of German Language and Literature and concurrent professor of philosophy.

Reviews

“. . . Makes a cogent case for intellectual rigor, faith and reason to underpin Catholic educational establishments.” — Conscience

“The second half of the title suggests a revision of Cardinal Newman’s The Idea of a University that is suitable to the contemporary American Catholic campus; the first half refines the vision by concentrating on the intellectual aspects of Catholicism that contribute to this achievement.” — Faith and Reason