Msgr. Fernando Ocáriz, the Prelate of Opus Dei and Honorary Grand Chancellor of UA&P, recently had a 12-day pastoral trip to the Philippines. You may read about his visit here. On August 2, he met with the officials of UA&P. Below is the unofficial translation of his message.
You are carrying out the mission of a University. Several ideas come to my mind right now. The first is an anecdote about St Josemaria, which perhaps is familiar to you. On one occasion, when he was visiting the University of Navarre in earlier years, one of the leading professors told him: Father, you asked us to start a University, and here you go. St Josemaria responded, Yes, but what is important is not to just start a University but that you be holy doing the work of a University.[1] Well, this is applicable to all. The Christian meaning of any task is inseparable from the sanctification of work. St Josemaria saw it quite clearly. And the first condition in this sanctification is to do the work very well.
The work in a University has many dimensions: pedagogy, research, administration/management which many of you are directly involved with. The first idea I wanted to remind you—this is actually something that you already know, and I frequently mention this—your work is service. Every task is actually a service for others, a service to people. In the various activities, in the different departments of the organization, we give primacy to the person. This could imply several things. In the level of management, it implies taking care of justice, especially towards those people working for you. And together with justice, charity is quite connected to justice. It’s not enough to be affectionate; it also involves just remuneration of employees, professors, workers, etc. Living justice should be a priority for the sanctification of work so that the workplace can be humane.
This also supposes caring for people in different aspects. It also comes to my mind something that Cardinal Ratzinger said when he came to the University of Navarre. He spoke about the university like a great intellectual. As a great scholar too. He spoke about the need for a university to be united. A university is not simply a collection of various elements separated from each other: one is a faculty, another is an institute, and a council; each one being concerned only with its mission. Obviously, there is a need to specialize and distinguish in terms of function, but we have to realize that a university is a unity. We cannot take unity as a given. We have to facilitate it. We have to work for it: each with his own task but towards collaboration. With order, yes, and through the institutional processes established.
In line with this, collegiality. Yes, we can function in another manner, but we have our statutes and institutional ways of doing things. We have to take care of collegiality: to realize that we need the opinion of others, that we need their help, their suggestions. We are open to the suggestions of our colleagues in government and likewise in general, also to other professors, alumni, and students.
I understand that for some of you who love teaching and research, being in management could entail sacrifice as you give up some of your time for this. Realize that at times some people are needed to carry out what is best in the global vision of things. Well, actually I can tell you more things about universities, but I want to listen to what you want to say about your university. About OUR university!
[1] The person who seems have been referred is Eduardo Ortiz de Landazuri. Check this article utilizing Google Translate: https://opusdei.org/es/article/matrimonio-ortiz-landazuri-ser-santos-haciendo-universidad/
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