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(Feb. 13. 2002 | San Francisco) The Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education has declared in a written statement that it supports the University of San Francisco's St. Ignatius Institute, and that it places trust in San Francisco Archbishop William Levada and University President Fr. Stephen Privett, S.J.
After the University named a new director to the Institute in 2001, dissenters petitioned the Vatican to force the University to reinstate the previous director. The issue ultimately went before the Congregation for Catholic Education, the Vatican's advisory body for educational institutions.
In a letter dated January 25, 2002, the Congregation acknowledges the controversy, but voices support for University President Fr. Stephen Privett, S.J. and his leadership.
The letter also expresses support for Archbishop Levada's handling of the situation, and acknowledges his responsibility for helping to strengthen the University's Catholic Identity. "Archbishop Levada is fulfilling this role and we are grateful for your [Fr. Privett's] cooperation with him in this delicate task."
Significantly, the Congregation also states that SII is a part of the University, not an autonomous program. It also echoes the University's own position when it expresses its desire that SII retain its Catholic flavor and that the program offer "a solid education which is faithful to the doctrine of the Church.
"It is clear that the Vatican supports the St. Ignatius Institute and its new director, Dr. Paul Murphy, said University President Fr. Stephen Privett, S.J. "We are grateful that we can finally put this behind us, and for the role the Congregation has played in helping us to do so. As the Congregation makes clear, the task now is to consign all disagreements to the past and to devote our full energy to developing this program into the premier Catholic Great Books program in the country.
Archbishop Levada has agreed to speak March 5 at a new lecture series at the St. Ignatius Institute. Levada was to inaugurate the lecture series on Sept. 11, 2001 but the talk was postponed after the terrorist attacks. The purpose of the lecture series is to further the dialogue between faith and culture.
For more information, contact Gary McDonald, director of media relations, at (415) 422-2699 or mcdonald@usfca.edu.
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