WASHINGTON (January 20, 2011)—Bishops and Catholic university presidents across the United States will engage in conversations over the next year as a first step in the 10 year review of The Application of Ex Corde Ecclesiae for the United States. Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Curry of Los Angeles, chairman of the Committee on Catholic Education of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), announced the review.
“This review will help us appreciate the positive developments and remaining challenges in the collaborative efforts of bishops and presidents to ensure the implementation of Ex Corde Ecclesiae in the United States,” said Bishop Curry.
Ex Corde Ecclesiae is the Vatican document promulgated in 1990 by Pope John Paul II, which outlines the relationship between the bishops and Catholic colleges and universities. The document called for “close personal and pastoral relationships…between university and Church authorities, characterized by mutual trust, close and consistent cooperation and continuing dialogue.” The U.S. bishops approved The Application of Ex Corde Ecclesiae for the United States which became effective May 3, 2001.
This review will consist of a conversation between a bishop and each university president within his diocese to discuss The Application of Ex Corde Ecclesiae for the United States. Following the local conversations, bishops will share their reflections with one another at USCCB regional meetings during the General Assembly in November 2011. The presentations will then be complied and presented to the president of the Conference.
“Dialogue between bishop and president provides an important means to foster a mutually beneficial relationship,” said Bishop Curry. “Collaboration is essential to the spirit of Ex Corde Ecclesiae, which is why a working group of bishops and university presidents created the review process together.”
“I was pleased and grateful that the bishops invited university presidents to help shape the instrument that will guide these conversations,” said Father Dennis Holtschneider, C.M., president of DePaul University and chair of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities. “The Church and the larger society are served well when the leadership of both the Church and higher education institutions work closely together.”
The review process concentrates on Catholic identity, mission, ecclesial communion, service rendered by the university, and continued cooperation between the bishop and president.
http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2011/11-017.shtml
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