Pontifical university

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pontifical universities are "academic institutes established or approved directly by the Holy See, composed of three main ecclesiastical faculties (Theology, Philosophy and Canon Law) and at least one other faculty. These academic institutes deal specifically with the Christian revelation and related disciplines, and the Church’s mission of spreading the Gospel, as proclaimed in the Apostolic Constitution Sapientia christiana."^[1]

Pontifical universities follow a European system of degrees in the sacred faculties, granting the baccalaureate, the licentiate, and the doctorate. These ecclesiastical degrees are prerequisites to certain offices in the Roman Catholic Church, especially considering that bishop candidates are selected mainly from priests who are doctors of sacred theology (S.T.D.) or canon law (J.C.D.) and that ecclesiastical judges and attorneys must be at least licentiates of canon law (J.C.L.).

Quality and ranking

Compared to secular or Catholic universities, which are academic institutions for the study and teaching of a broad range of disciplines, ecclesiastical or Pontifical universities are "usually composed of three principal ecclesiastical faculties, theology, philosophy, and canon law, and at least one other faculty. A Pontifical university specifically addresses Christian revelation and disciplines correlative to the evangelical mission of the Church as set out in the apostolic constitution Sapientia christiana." ^[2]^[3]

Current international quality ranking services do not have a quality ranking category that reflects the unique nature and mission of Pontifical universities, nor do their methodologies take into account this unique nature and mission in a way that reflects their educational quality. Since 19 September 2003 the Holy See has taken part in the Bologna Process, a series of meetings and agreements between European states designed to foster comparable quality standards in higher education, and in the "Bologna Follow-up Group". The Holy See’s Agency for the Evaluation and Promotion of Quality in Ecclesiastical Universities and Faculties (AVEPRO) was established on 19 September 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI "to promote and develop a culture of quality within the academic institutions that depend directly on the Holy See and ensure they possess internationally valid quality criteria." ^[3]

List of pontifical universities

(Principal source: 'Pontifical Universities', Annuario Pontificio)

Argentina

Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina (Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina), Buenos Aires

Austria

Theological Faculty, Catholic-Theological Private University Linz, Linz
International Theological Institute; for studies of marriage and family, near Vienna

Belgium

Germany

Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Eichstätt & Ingolstadt
Munich University of Philosophy, Munich

Guatemala

Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, Guatemala City

Indonesia

Wedabhakti Pontifical Faculty of Theology, Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta

Ireland

St Patrick's College, Maynooth, Maynooth; Pontifical University charter 1896
Clonliffe College, Dublin; A number of other institutions in the past would have awarded degrees Angelicum University such as Clonliffe College and other seminaries in Ireland.

Italy

Marianum Theological Faculty, Rome
Pontifical Atheneum of St. Anselm, (Sant'Anselmo) Rome
Pontifical University of St. Anthony, Rome
Pontifical University of St. Bonaventure (Seraphicum), Rome
Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), Rome
Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome
Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, Rome
Pontifical Urbaniana University, Rome
Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome
Pontifical Lateran University, Rome
Salesian Pontifical University, Rome

Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire)

Université Catholique de l'Afrique de l'Ouest, Abidjan

Kenya

Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Nairobi

Lebanon

Saint Joseph University, Beirut

Mexico

Pontifical University of Mexico, Mexico City

Netherlands

Radboud University of Nijmegen, Nijimegen; formerly Catholic University of Nijmegen
Catholic University of Utrecht, Utrecht; became part of University of Tilburg in 2006.

Panama

Universidad Católica Santa María La Antigua, Panama City

Paraguay

Universidad Católica Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, Asuncion

Philippines

The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines, Manila, founded in 1611 - with three Ecclesiastical Faculties of Theology, Philosophy and Canon Law; and the Incorporated Institute of Consecrated Life, Asia, all of which confer ecclesiastical degrees in three cycles (Bachelor, Licentiate, Doctorate).
Loyola School of Theology, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City; A Faculty of Theology.

Poland

Pontifical University of John Paul II, Cracow

Portugal

Catholic University of Portugal, Lisbon

Puerto Rico

Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, Ponce
Bayamon Central University, Bayamón^{[citation needed]}

Spain

Comillas Pontifical University, Madrid
Pontifical University of Salamanca, Salamanca
University of Deusto, Bilbao
University of Navarra, Pamplona

United States

The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC
John Paul II Institute, Washington, DC
Mundelein Seminary at the University of St. Mary of the Lake, Mundelein, IL
Pontifical College Josephinum, Columbus, OH
Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception (PFIC), Dominican House of Studies, Washington, DC
St. Mary's Seminary and University, Baltimore, MD
Boston College School of Theology, Boston, MA

Uruguay

Universidad Católica del Uruguay Dámaso Antonio Larrañaga, Montevideo

Former pontifical universities

Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany, until the German Reformation
Lund Studium Generale, Lund, Sweden, until the Danish Reformation^[4]
University of San Marcos, Lima, Peru, until the Peruvian War of Independence
Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru, until July 2012.^[5]^[6]
Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico, until the Mexican War of Independence
Universidad Católica de Santo Tomás de Villanueva, Havana, Cuba, until 1961
University of Aberdeen, Old Aberdeen, Scotland, until the Scottish Reformation
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England, until the English Reformation
University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany, until the French Revolutionary Wars
University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark, until the Danish Reformation
University of Erfurt, until the German Reformation
University of Freiburg, until the Suppression of the Society of Jesus
University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland, until the Scottish Reformation
University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany, until the German Reformation
University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany, until the German Reformation
University of Mainz, until the French Revolutionary Wars
University of Oxford, Oxford, England, until the English Reformation
University of Paris, Paris, France, until the French Revolution
University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany, until the German Reformation
University of Saint Andrews, Saint Andrews, Scotland, until the Scottish Reformation
University of Tübingen, until the German Reformation
University of Wittenberg, until the German Reformation
University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany, until the Napoleonic Wars
Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden, until the Swedish Reformation

References

Matthew Bunson, ed. (2010). Catholic Almanac 2010. Our Sunday Visitor. pp. 546–550.

↑ http://www.avepro.va/ Accessed November 1, 2012
↑ http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_15041979_sapientia-christiana_en.html Sapientia Christiana], Accessed June 24, 2011
↑ 3.0 3.1 Agenzia della Santa Sede per la Valutazione e la Promozione della Qualità delle Università e Facoltà Ecclesiastiche (AVEPRO), http://www.avepro.va/ Accessed November 1. 2012
↑ Denmark ruled Lund till the Great Northern War; Andrina Stiles (1992), Sweden and the Baltic, 1523—1721, London: Hodder & Stoughton.
↑ Andrés Beltramo Alvarez (20 July 2012). "Peru: Vatican removes titles "Pontifical" and "Catholic" from university name". La Stampa.
↑ David Kerr (2012), "Elite Peruvian University Stripped of Catholic Credentials", Catholic News Agency, July 21, 2012, http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/elite-peruvian-university-stripped-of-catholic-credentials