Is Gonzaga still a Jesuit, Catholic university? The ruminations of a bewildered witness

Is Gonzaga still a Jesuit, Catholic university? The ruminations of a bewildered witness | Dr. Eric Cunningham, Department of History, Gonzaga University | Ignatius Insight | March 28, 2011

Introduction

"The function of the university" wrote Thomas Merton, "is to help men and women save their souls, and in so doing, to save their society: from what? From the hell of meaninglessness, of obsession, of complex artifice, of systematic lying, of criminal evasions and neglects, of self-destructive futilities." [1] When Merton, a Trappist monk, penned these thoughts in 1965, he was not referring specifically to Catholic universities, but to universities in general. I highlighted this passage from Love and Living back in 1989, and I've returned to it several times over the years. Every time I read it, I try to imagine how a state university official in 1965 might have reacted to the idea that universities exist to "save souls." Then I imagine how a Catholic university official in 2011 would react to the same thought. I can't help but think that the secular administrator and the Catholic administrator would both find it prudent to avoid any mention of "souls" and "salvation" in their mission statements. Phrases like "excellence," "global citizenship," "civic responsibility," and "social justice," work much better, being lofty enough to inspire, yet vague enough not to ruffle the feathers of potential customers who may not care one way or another if salvation is included in the costs of tuition.

Having spent a good portion of my life in universities, it seems to me that the most obvious function of all universities, secular, and Catholic, is to generate enough revenue to remain in operation and, hopefully, grow. What the students do with their souls while they're in college is pretty much up to them. If they were interested in saving their souls, though, it would be awfully nice if they could find a university that would help them do that.

The changing face of Jesuit Catholic identity

During my seven-and-a-half years as a faculty member at Gonzaga, I have participated in numerous campus conversations on Catholic mission and identity, and I have always taken what I think is a strong and outspokenly pro-Church position. I believe that in an era in which Jesuits are few, lay faculty have to be able to articulate the Church's position accurately, especially on the various matters in which faith and reason would seem to be in conflict. Unfortunately, in taking a pro-Church position, I have often found myself at odds with 1) Catholic colleagues who don't share "my opinion" of what Catholic means, 2) non-Catholic colleagues who are generally indifferent to the question, and find all of the "mission" talk something of an irritation, and 3) the occasional student who doesn't appreciate—to quote one anonymous respondent on a recent instructor evaluation—"having religion shoved down my throat." As frustrating as it's been to try to defend a mainstream Catholic worldview at Gonzaga, particularly when my opponents have so often been Jesuit priests, my career as a reluctant culture warrior has provided me with great opportunities for personal growth. I have learned the meaning of William Blake's assertion that "a fool who persists in his folly will become wise." The wisdom I have attained is the full awareness of the folly of feverishly trying to shore up Catholic culture at a campus that will probably soon either abandon, or be forced by circumstances to drop its Catholic identity.

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