International Higher Education, Spring 2003

Catholic Universities Ponder Globalization

In early December 2002, more than 300 leaders of Catholic universities worldwide met at the Vatican in Rome to discuss the implications of globalization for Catholic higher education. The conference was co-sponsored by the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU) and the Vatican's congregation for Catholic Education. Globalization has special implications for church-related institutions, as they have a special mission that is both global and spiritual in nature but at the same time at odds with many of the forces of the "market" that are often integrally linked with globalization.

One of the unique features of the church-related institutions attending the conference is the concern for keeping values at the center of the academic equation and a desire to avoid being drawn completely into the commercialization that characterizes much of contemporary higher education. Navigating the complex realities of both kinds of globalization--that motivated by a focus on social justice and spiritualism and at the same time being subject to the "globalization of the market"--is not easy. The papers and discussions featured a combination of concerns with understanding the nature of a Catholic university in a changing societal environment, in linking theological issues to contemporary higher education challenges, and maintaining a focus on social justice issues in an era of "marketization."

The realities faced by these 300 institutions from all continents is, of course, quite varied. The realities faced by Catholic universities in non-Catholic environments are different from those in Catholic countries. The problems of Catholic institutions in developing countries are also unique. All were united by a commitment to understand globalization and to navigate constructively in this new context. The conference's final statement stressed harnessing the forces of globalization so that, for example, the revolution in information technology can be used to strengthen solidarity rather than the commercialization of knowledge.

Additional information is available from IFCU, rue diAssas, Paris, France. The papers given at the conference will be available, as is the final statement.