Last night I was invited to a dinner hosted by Fr. David O'Connell, President of The Catholic University of America. He was the man who welcomed His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to his campus hours earlier. During the meal I found myself thinking of you students and our good fortune to be together at this Saint Vincent.

There were eight of us at the table - including the presidents of Notre Dame, Georgetown, and St. John's - and I was honored to have our little college represented among these giants of Catholic Higher Education. Fr. David, who showed such great grace and warm hospitality at every moment yesterday, asked me to join him at his table for what would become a wide-ranging discussion about our colleges, presidencies, aspirations, and identities.

The dinner was a fitting conclusion to a spectacular day. I was blessed to be in the front row of the Great Room of Pryzbyla University Center - only 15 feet away from the Holy Father - when he delivered a speech that will echo through the halls of Catholic academia for some time.

I am linking my blog to his address. He charted a course for Catholic education for the 21st century and beyond. He directed your steps on our campus toward a pursuit of the truth and the Fount of all truth, Jesus Christ. "First and foremost, every Catholic educational institution is a place to encounter the living God who in Jesus Christ reveals his transforming love and truth," Pope Benedict said.

The Pope also extolled "the great value of academic freedom" and like his predecessor, placed it in the context of the Church and her teachings on faith and morals. He warned that "any appeal to the principle of academic freedom in order to justify positions that contradict the faith and the teaching of the Church would obstruct or even betray the university's identity and mission." He followed this point by emphasizing the requirement that a university witness "to the way of Christ, as found in the Gospel and upheld by the Church's Magisterium" and that this witness be evident in "all aspects of an institution's life, both inside and outside the classroom." He continued, "Divergence from this vision weakens Catholic identity and, far from advancing freedom, inevitably leads to confusion, whether moral, intellectual or spiritual."

That's a lot to consider. In fact, his address was so deep that I felt like I had been mistakenly enrolled in an honors program to which I did not belong!

Because we are so close to the end of the academic year, it is not possible for Saint Vincent to have a campus-wide discussion of this important speech and these important points. The College will conduct such activities next year, beginning with the orientation of our students, continuing in the deliberations of our faculty and administrators, and extending to our external relationships with other institutions of higher learning, our alums and benefactors, and others interested in Saint Vincent and her identity and future.

The Pope concluded by thanking attendees for their "dedication and generosity. I know from my own days as a professor…that the reputation of Catholic institutes of learning in this country is largely due to yourselves and your predecessors. Your selfless contributions…serve both your country and the Church."

Those words made me think of Jim Will and Fr. Martin and Fr. Murtha and the many who preceded them, and others such as dear Fr. Simon whom we laid to rest this week - he had served for so long and so well at the College (I met his relatives outside of the White House Wednesday by complete accident and it was wonderful to see them smiling again after so much mourning Monday at the funeral in the Basilica).

When I heard the Pope's words I also thought of Br. Norman - Executive Vice President here at the College - and the many monks and lay persons and administrators and faculty members who have toiled for years to bring our College to this time of prosperity. The Pope was thanking them more than me.

Pope Benedict made clear that our work is far from over and indeed will never be over. "Education is integral to the mission of the Church to proclaim the Good News, " he said, and thus we are part of the eternal spring that is the Church's very identity - ever new, ever in bloom, bearing witness to hope.

One final thought: On the first full day of the Pope's visit I was at the White House when President Bush and the Holy Father stood side by side. Both of their speeches on that occasion are worth reading. Mary and the kids and I joined thousands of others (and our good Archabbot) on the South Lawn for what was an historic occasion. There is no doubting the closeness and importance of the relationship between the United States and the Vatican.

At the White House dinner that evening, as Mary and I sat in the East Room in the company of five U.S. Supreme Court justices, Senator John McCain, Secretary Rice and Secretary Spellings (U.S. departments of State and Education, respectively), and a host of Catholic leaders from all over the country, President Bush began his eloquent toast in honor of the Pope's visit with words to this effect: Today was a great day for America.

Indeed it was! And it's good to be back home!

http://www.ewtn.com/USPapalVisit08/words/Educators.asp