Gregorian: new Rector takes His Office

Editor: The first commenter on the kath.net portal, "palmzweig" complains that none of the Jesuits wear their habits. It's understandable that this should provoke suspicion and distrust. It's amazing that such a superficial thing reveals so much. All in all this is not an encouraging appointment. That this man's specialty is Hannah Arendt is hardly consoling. It may take more time before the people in charge realize that men whose worldly studies may impress secular mentalities, do not serve the Church well.

Yesterday on Wednesday the French philosopher and Jesuit Francoi-Xavier Durmortier (61) begins his job as Rector of the Papal Gregorian University.

Rome [kath.net/as] Yesterday on Wednesday, September 1, the French philosopher and Jesuit Francois-Xavier Dumortier (61) began his new work as Rector of the Papal Gregorian University. P. Dumortier worked previously as a professor of philosophy with the specialization in philosophic ethics at the Centre Sèvres and taught at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge Massachusetts. Dumortier researches the German philosopher Hannah Arendt (d. 1976), who as a young researcher was forced by the National Socialists to exile in the United States. IN 1982 Dumortier was ordained a priest. In 1990 he took solemn vows in the Society of Jesus.

In 2003 Dumortier was selected as the Superior of the Jesuit French Province. Pope Benedict XVI. had named him on April 26th as the new rector to the Gregorian University.

In his first writings to the Professors and Personnel of his new work appointment on the end of April of this year, P. Dumortier had made the the point, how important the presence and work of the Papal Gregorian university is in and for the Church.

Next to the three big state Universities of Rome ("La Sapienza", "Tor Vergata", "Terza Universita") the Papal domain is of some note in the eternal city. Together with six Universities: the Papal Gregorian University (founded 1551; Society of Jesus), Lateran (founded 1773; Vatican, Diocese of Rome), Urbaniara (founded 1933; Propaganda Fidei), Tommaso d'Aquino (founded 1580; Dominicans), Salesiana (founded 1940: Salesians) and Santa Croce (founded 1985: Opus Dei), are of the number of over 20 theologico-philosophical Athanaeums, Institutes, Faculties and Seminaries. These take up a certain area of study or from a special spiritual-scholarly horizon of the organizing bodies and those responsible over the last centuries.

Not from long ago these domains served exclusively for the formation of seminarians, priests and religious or for academic specialists and particular scientific specialties. Initially in the last 25 to 30 years have seen a growing number of lay students. The large part of these are Italians, but there are also many young people who come above all from eastern Europe, the United States and Latin America to study there.

The center of the Papal Universities and Athanaeums are concerned with the study of philosophy, theology and canon law. This necessitates a large bandwidt of special educational directions: Missiology, Spirituality, Patristics, Liturgy, Study of Religion, Church History, Psychology, Education, Art and Music, Sociology and Church social teaching, Bioethics, Old Philology -- just to name a few of the special areas of study.

The Papal Gregorian University owes its name to Pope Gregory XIII. who opened the new location of the Collegio Romano in 1584, which had been established by Jesuit founder, St. Ignatius Loyola in 1551.

Today the Gregorian has six faculties (Philosophy, Theology, Canon Law, History and Cultural treasures of the Church, Missiology, Social Science), three Insitutes (Spirituality, Psychology, Interdisciplinary Studies of Religons and Cultures) and for Centers (Interdisciplinary Center for Social Communication, for the Education of Teachers of Priests, Center "Cardinal Bea" for Jewish Studies, Interdisciplinary Center "Laikos").

The Papal Gregorian Univerisity numbers around 3,000 students from more than 130 lands, 821 Diocese and 84 Religious Institutes. The faculty has professors who come from 40 different countries.

The original, here...