Vatican Responds to Changes at St. Ignatius Institute
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 trusts the leadership of USF President Stephen A. Privett, S.J. and San Francisco Archbishop William Levada.
But dissenters from the Institute announced last week the formation of a separate college for students dissatisfied with the Catholic Great Books program at USF’s SII. Campion College, as the new school will be called, has a Web site encouraging students to apply but warning them that the college is not yet accredited.
“It is ironic that the dissidents who looked to Rome for direction on the SII now reject the Congregation for Catholic Education's request that ‘all parties…collaborate in providing the best education possible to the young people who come both to the University of San Francisco and to the St. Ignatius Institute,’” said USF President Stephen A. Privett, S.J. “Campion College will probably appeal to individuals who need a sheltered environment, want to talk to the same like-minded classmates for two years and don't mind forgoing the academic resources, curricular choices, support programs and opportunities generally associated with a college education. These are students who would not be interested in USF or SII.”
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 Jan. 25 letter, the Congregation acknowledges the controversy, but voices support for Fr. Privett and his leadership.
The letter also expresses support for 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.”
The Congregation also echoes the university’s own position in expressing 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 Fr. Privett. “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 premiere Catholic Great Books program in the country.”
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