After twenty years of refusing to accommodate its statutes according to the Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae, the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Bertone, has issued a decree by request of Pope Benedict to strip the titles of ‘Catholic’ and ‘Pontifical’ from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.
Founded in 1917 with the ecclesiastic approval of Archbishop of Lima Pedro Manuel Garcia y Naranjo and erected by Pope Pius XII in 1942 as a canonical juridical person subject to canonical legislation, the university has failed to reform its statues according to the provisions of Ex Corde Ecclesiae to which all universities subject to canonical legislation had to conform.
The Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Eccelsia of Pope John Paul II was promulgated on August 15, 1990 to define the relationship between the Catholic Church and Catholic institutions of higher learning. It was a response to many Catholic universities throughout the world distancing themselves from Catholic teaching and practice.
The recent Vatican document also considers the university’s practice to orient its initiatives according to criteria not compatible with the disciplines and morals of the Church.
Unfortunately many view the stripping of the titles of ‘Catholic’ and ‘Pontifical’ of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru as a power struggle between the rector of the university Marcial Rubio Correa, the Cardinal of Lima Juan Luis Cipriani and Rome. The reason however is simple, this Pontifical and Catholic university has refused to reform itself according to the demands of Rome, therefore it may no longer be called Pontifical and Catholic. It is a loss for Peru and the Church.
Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru
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