Archbishop Charles Chaput
It has often been said that the “answer” to most problems is “education.” But it is obvious that a high level of education in a general sense . . . often failed to protect 20th century minds from homicidal or suicidal aberrations. [These were often] generated by men of high educational standing. And it has often been in colleges and universities that the bad seeds first bore fruit.
— Robert Conquest, “Reflections on a Ravaged Century” Earlier this month I had the chance to walk along Red Square and visit the Kremlin museum in Moscow. It was a remarkable experience. I was born and raised in an age dominated by the Cold War. An entire century was shaped by events that took place in or near Red Square. The weight of history is everywhere in the city — especially this year, 2007, which marks the 90th anniversary of Russia’s February Revolution, which forced Czar Nicholas II to abdicate, and the October Revolution, which brought Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks to power.
The rest of the 20th century saw the rise of communism, national socialism, fascism, Mao, Pol Pot and suffering on a scale with no parallel in human experience.
Looking back from the comfort of American life today, it’s hard to believe how anyone could have swallowed the extremism of Soviet or Nazi thought. But vast numbers of people did — including a great many academics, intellectuals, artists and writers in the democratic West.
In fact, as historian Robert Conquest pointed out, it was often precisely the most educated people who fell in love with radical ideas and overlooked their real cost in human lives. For Conquest, the record shows that the pursuit of knowledge is no guarantee of humanity; and a Ph.D. or best-selling novel is no vaccine against barbarism. New York Times reporter Walter Duranty made a career out of covering up Soviet crimes. The poet Ezra Pound was a ferocious anti-Semite. Neither man lacked intelligence or talent; quite the opposite.
The lesson here is plain. Catholics have a very long tradition of revering and advancing education. In fact, the Church first created the idea of a “university” centuries ago. Deepening our knowledge of the world and developing our intellects — these good things belong to the nature God gave us when he made us human. We have a duty to develop our intelligence and our skills as fully as we can. But facts without a purpose, facts without a moral framework for understanding their meaning, are worthless. The point of real education is not just the transmission of data, but the formation of mind, heart and conscience in the light of truth. Knowledge unguided by wisdom, humility, charity and prudence is not a tool; it’s a weapon.
This autumn, the great Catholic tradition of education continues all over the United States. But I want to make special mention of two outstanding programs. First, this fall marks the opening of Wyoming Catholic College (WCC) under the chairmanship of my good friend Cheyenne’s Bishop David Ricken. WCC is not an “ordinary” undergraduate program. It’s much richer than that. Rooted in a Great Books curriculum and set amid the tremendous natural beauty of Wyoming, WCC hopes to shape a new generation of “whole” Catholic men and women by direct contact with the sources of Western thought and culture. I encourage every Colorado Catholic family with college plans in the future to at least consider Wyoming Catholic College. It has a great faculty and equally great promise.
Second, one of the most urgent needs facing the Church today is laypeople who are formed with academic excellence and an authentically Catholic spirit. The Augustine Institute here in Denver is simply the best graduate-level program in lay Catholic leadership I know of. The faculty — Sean Innerst, Curtis Martin, Timothy Gray, Jonathan Reyes, Joseph Burns and Edward Sri, along with Marica Frank and Michael Woodward — is outstanding, and so is the curriculum. I highly recommend it to any Catholic adult seeking to deepen his or her faith in an environment of vigorous intellectual inquiry.
If the 20th century taught us anything, it’s this: “education” is not enough. What makes knowledge humane is the conscience and purpose we give to it. This is why Catholic education is so enduringly important.
For more information: Wyoming Catholic College, call 877-332-2930 or visit www.wyomingcatholiccollege.com; Augustine Institute, call 303-937-4420 or visit www.augustineinstitute.org.
