Archbishop speaks about Jesuit education

Archbishop J. Michael Miller speaks to the congregation at the Mass of the Holy Spirit on Wednesday. Miller also gave a lecture about Jesuit education Wednesday night.

By AMANDA PORTNER
Assistant News Editor

Archbishop J. Michael Miller stressed the importance of maintaining a Catholic identity in Jesuit higher education during Wednesday night’s lecture.

The lecture, titled “Jesuit Higher Education in the U.S. at the Service of the Church in the Third Millennium,” took place in the Skutt Student Center Ballroom. About 350 people attended.

Miller presented the role of Jesuit education as four main points, including the importance of Jesuit institutions in higher education, practical considerations for Catholic and Jesuit education, the acts of justice and service of faith and the dependence of the church on Jesuit universities.

Miller said Jesuit institutions are important because of their spiritual distinction linked to the values of St. Ignatius.

To maintain a Catholic identity is a challenge to universities today in an environment of secularization and dereligionization, Miller said. He encouraged a commitment to remain faithful to this identity and the Jesuit mission.

“The church wants — needs you — to be distinctively Jesuit,” Miller said.

The practical issues facing Jesuit institutions include maintaining a visible Catholic identity, incorporating the university into the local church, being accountable for a Catholic identity and extending the strong Catholic education of undergraduate programs into professional and graduate programs, Miller said.

Miller said that courses teaching Catholic identity are front-loaded into undergraduate curriculum but neglected in professional and graduate programs. It is important to continue this education, especially as it relates to one’s discipline in these programs, he said.

Second-year physical therapy students Jane Renner and Laura Fretschel said Creighton has done a good job of providing a Catholic-based professional program.

“I think, for us, it was important to see that the Jesuit mission that was taught in undergrad was continued in graduate school,” Fretschel said.

Miller’s last point called for a measure of accountability showing how well a university is living up to the Catholic identity. He said this application would show how well the university is achieving the mission statement, and it would open a window for improvement.

A member of the audience asked Miller what the most important thing is for students to do during their years at Creighton.

Miller said that a student’s job is to, most importantly, be a student. Students should become proficient in a chosen vocation and commit themselves to intellectual pursuit, he said.

Students also should begin to reflect on a Catholic identity and the “integration of life and work and service that the Gospel offers.” During this time, faculty can mentor students and be “witnesses to the integration of faith and reason of a spiritual life and a rigorous academic life.”

Miller recognized the intellectual prestige and financial success that Jesuit institutions have achieved.

“A remarkable accomplishment,” he said. “It brings with it remarkable responsibilities.”

Miller urged Jesuit universities to continue to meet the high expectations set for them in the practice of Catholic education and upholding the highest ideals.

“Continue to flourish and serve the Gospel,” he said.