Higher Education and the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church (represented by the Holy See, also called the Apostolic See, which is a subject of international law), fulfilling its mission of evangelization, devotes particular attention to Academic Institutions of Higher Education (such as Catholic or ecclesiastical Universities, Faculties and specialized institutes), which by their nature aim to secure that “the Christian outlook should acquire a public, stable and universal influence in the whole process of the promotion of higher culture”, as stated in the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council Declaration on Christian Education Gravissimum Educationis.
The Church has undoubtedly played an important role in the birth of the University. In fact, almost all the most ancient universities were created either by the Popes or with the direct involvement of the Church. Rightly, therefore, noted John Paul II, in his Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae, “Born from the heart of the Church, the Catholic University is part of the tradition dating back to the very origin of the University as an institution, and has always proved an incomparable center of creativity and the spreading of knowledge for the good of humanity.