cormacburke.me.ke

The Purpose of University Education in the mind of St. Josemaría Escrivá
(Strathmore University, 2002)
John Henry Newman, writing 150 years ago in a famous work entitled "The Idea of a University", held that modern man is instructed, but not educated. In other words, he is taught to do things; and to think sufficiently in order to do them. But he is not taught to think further... And that, in Newman's view, is instruction, not education: "Education is a higher word; it implies an action upon our mental nature, and the formation of a character; it is something individual and permanent, and is commonly spoken of in connection with religion and virtue". Education and especially university education, then, should teach people to think; further, broader and deeper than they have been so far brought up to do.

           The campaign for legalized abortion has assumed worldwide dimensions.  There is probably not a single country that has not felt its impact in the past few years. Where abortion was already legal, on restricted grounds, the campaign has been aimed at removing these restrictions. And those countries where abortion is still illegal (countries like Ireland or Spain) are under growing pressure to legalize it: perhaps on restricted grounds, to begin with, but the campaign, here too, is evidently aiming at the ultimate goal of abortion "on demand."

RANDOM THOUGHTS

For many years Msgr. Cormac Burke has been a favourite among "Position Paper" readers because of his clarity of thought and lucidity of expression. In the following wide-ranging interview with Rev Charles Connolly these characteristics are to the fore.

During a 1994 lecture visit to New Zealand, Cormac Burke was interviewed on Radio New Zealand's "Kim Hill Show". This is a slightly shortened version of the interview. (Position Papers, Dublin, 1994)

Kim Hill: What kind of marriage cases do you judge at the Roman Rota?