Catholic universities must be missionary in spirit, pope says

Monday, May 8th, 2023

Pope Francis said that Catholic universities must be outward-looking and prepare their students to engage with the world’s problems rather than teaching rigid ideas.

“We need minds, hearts and hands that are up to the challenge of reality, not the narrowness of ideologies,” he told a delegation from the Organization of Catholic Universities of Latin America and the Caribbean on May 4 at the Vatican.

“A Catholic university should be missionary with its doors facing out, given that mission is the inspiration, the impetus, the strength and reward of the whole church,” he said.

The pope encouraged delegates to help their students become “social poets” who, by learning “the grammar and vocabulary of humanity, have the spark that allows them to imagine the unexpected.”

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