All that is human reverberates within the faith heart: to discern the university’s mission in the light of the signs of the times

Abstract

The Second Vatican Council showed the importance of discerning the “signs of the times” to define the Christian mission in the world, and to exercise its own theological work. As we celebrate, in 2015, the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council and of the Gravissimum educationis declaration, as well as the 25th anniversary of Ex corde Ecclesiae Apostolic Constitution, an important task falls upon fundamental theology, i.e.: how to discern and redefine the mission of the Catholic universities at the core of new human situations? In the present reflection, as a hypothesis, I propose three steps for theological discernment, which can only be carried out in each academic community. First, to identify some major callings in the paradoxical reality which characterizes current times. Second, to redefine the mission of a Catholic university in light of a reinterpretation of the Ex corde Ecclesiae apostolic constitution. Third, to reaffirm the centrality of the Gospel which is the source of faith and theology, as the ultimate criterion of all discernimentas. Finally, as an open conclusion, we highlight some fundamental points for the mission of a Catholic university in contemporaneity.

Keywords

• Vaticano II
• Ex corde Ecclesiae
• missão das universidades católicas