About The Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies: Need and BenefitsAbout the Institute | Five Foundation Principles | Board of Trustees | Academic Advisory Council | Associates | Affiliates | Need and Benefits |
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If we are to increase the number of scholars committed to the dialogue between the Catholic faith and modern culture, and to carry on at the highest level scholarship focused on the field of Catholic studies as a whole, we need to create an institutional design of a specialized and particular kind. The Institute will do for scholars interested in Catholic intellectual traditions what secular institutions such as the Princeton Institute and the Wilson Center have done for their own fields of research. The Institute represents a new form of institutional capacity necessary if Catholic intellectuals, in dialogue and partnership with scholars of other religious traditions, are to engage faithfully and competently modern culture with its massive investment in science, technology and media. The Catholic Church has created and sustains an international set of institutions-schools, universities, hospitals and social services-that have made accessible enormous religious and social benefits to peoples of many faiths, often to the poorest of peoples. The leadership of these great institutional resources will benefit from the best of scholarship that understands the mission of the Church, its myriad of institutions, and the needs of the world. No such institution for the production of such scholarship exists. Ignorance of religions and their power leads to bigotry and prejudice, and sometimes leads, tragically, to violence. An Institute, rooted in Catholic traditions dedicated to inter-religious dialogue and the good of all of society, meets a critical need in the world today. The leadership of the board of trustees of the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies, the support and commitment of the University of Southern California and the enthusiasm of the friends of the Institute together possess the will to create this much needed and innovative Center. Fr. James L. Heft, S.M. |
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