Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 12, 2024 / 13:30 pm (CNA).
In a speech delivered at the Heritage Foundation, widely considered the most influential conservative think tank in the United States, University of Dallas President Jonathan J. Sanford expressed concerns about the level of politicization that reigns in American universities and emphasized that the pursuit of truth requires open debate.
In a Feb. 8 speech titled “Universities, Patriotism, and Citizenship: A Catholic Liberal Arts Approach to the Election Year,” Sanford said there are only “very rare moments” when taking a political stance is appropriate for institutions of higher education. He said universities should instead foster open debate so that “the pursuit of truth can proceed in an unfettered way.”
Sanford, a professor of philosophy, has served as president of the University of Dallas, a private Catholic university located in Irving, Texas, since 2022.
Sanford cited the example of several university presidents who made statements after the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade that implied that “there’s something wicked to holding the pro-life position.” Such statements, he said, “silence those who like to argue about that position” and can create an “alienation of Christians on campus.”
“Arguing about abortion ought to be possible,” Sanford noted.
Politicization, Sanford warned, also jeopardizes the public’s trust in the objectivity of institutions and their academic research.
“There’s a growing perception that universities aren’t worth it anymore,” he said. “There seems to be a whole lot of politics going on. Does that mean there’s not much learning going on?”
During his remarks Sanford also gave voice to “deep concerns about cancel culture,” noting that the university setting needs to be one “where genuine debate can occur.”
He recalled that free and open debate helps foster patriotism as well. He pointed out that the Federalist Papers, which were the framework for the U.S. Constitution, were “arrived at through a lot of debate,” adding that one must learn, test, and then come to embrace the founding principles, at which point “your admiration and love for them ensues.”
However, Sanford noted that patriotism, from a Catholic perspective, does not always mean supporting the actions of one’s country. He cited St. Thomas More as the perfect example of a patriot. More was an adviser to King Henry VIII who was executed for refusing to support the king’s defiance of the Church in the establishment of the Anglican Church.
“Genuine patriotism is grounded in love of God and his Church,” Sanford said.
If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!
Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
We read: “Sanford cited the example of several university presidents who made statements after the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade that implied that ‘there’s something wicked to holding the pro-life position’.”
Citing the relevant Spanish mystic Miguel de Unamuno, a comment here about what is “wicked” and about the broad meaning of “pro-life.”
FIRST, “’The wicked man hath said in his heart, There is no God’. And this is truth. For in his head the righteous man may say to himself, God does not exist! But only the wicked [!] can say it in his heart. Not to believe that there is a God or to believe that there is not a God, is one thing; to resign oneself to there not being a God is another thing, and it is a terrible and inhuman thing; but not to wish that there be a God exceeds every other moral monstrosity; although, as a matter of fact, those who deny God deny Him because of their despair at not finding Him” (“The Tragic Sense of Life,” 1921/1954, p. 184).
SECOND, “The Church defends life. It stood up against Galileo, and it did right; for his discovery, in its inception and until it became assimilated to the general body of human knowledge, tended to shatter the anthropomorphic belief that the universe was created for man. It opposed Darwin, and it did right, for Darwinism tends to shatter our belief that man is an exceptional animal [‘…man, who is the only creature on earth which God willed for itself, cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself” Gaudium et Spes, n. 24] created expressly to be eternalized. And lastly, Pius IX., the first Pontiff to be proclaimed infallible, declared that he was irreconcilable with the so-called modern civilization [Syllabus of Errors, n. 80]. And he did right” (ibid., 72).
So, YES, to the search for truth within academia and through open debate, so as to somehow answer the depth of despair in our “so-called modern civilization,” and with a fully encompassing pro-life witnessing to “the Way—the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6).
Oh, yeah, then there’s the specious 1967 Land O’ Lakes Declaration of so-called autonomy (clearly NOT contaminating the University of Dallas). Forgot about that self-amputation!
From experience the undergrad level should be where the student is familiarized with the principles necessary for the pursuit of truth. And a well established understanding of truth. It’s on this level where academia has led many astray. Although Dr Sanford indicates this awareness in his responses.
Graduate studies is the forum for greater open debate on the prominent subjects affecting our world both good and bad, its realization or lack of differentiating.