The character of a Catholic university

From Archbishop Wuerl's homily at the Mass of Holy Spirit that he celebrated to mark the beginning of the academic year at The Catholic University of America:

....

Just as we are nurtured and grow within the confines of our natural family, so do we develop and mature within the embrace of our spiritual family, the Church.

This university opens its doors and arms to everyone. No student who enters this campus is asked to leave his or her faith at the entrance. But as an institution, the university invites all to recognize that the values which guide this university, and life on its campus, are manifestations of the faith of a larger spiritual family — the Church.

This academic learning community, of which you are now a part, is an expression of that communion or community of faith and spiritual conviction.

We should not be surprised if life on this campus is different than what we would experience on some other university and college campuses. By definition, The Catholic University of America family is committed to the exploration of human intellectual advancement precisely out of a lived tradition rooted in the word of God — the wisdom of God. Thus as a university family, we are committed to values and the recognition of the place of virtue in our lives as we develop and face the challenge of personal individual choices and decisions.

By its very definition, the Church will always be countercultural. The beginnings of the kingdom of God breaking into this world will necessarily be in contrast with the wisdom and values of the world. What the living tradition, on which this university stands, brings to our modern world is the wisdom that helps us answer the questions not only what can I do and how can I do it, but what should I do and what ought I do.

At the same time, we are invited into one of the great, if not greatest, human adventures — the changing of the world into a better place that is truly reflective of what the Scriptures call the kingdom of God — a realm of justice, peace, truth, compassion and love.

The Church and her educational institutions have the task of transforming human culture and bringing to fulfillment all of the created goodness that seeks fullness in Christ. The transformation of the temporal order will always be the mission of the Church and its manifold institutional expressions.