"We listen in pluralism and learn in diversity," said Rev. Howard Gray, S.J., last night at a presentation entitled the "Jesuit Mission and the Challenge of Pluralism."
Gray, who serves at Georgetown University as the assistant to the president for special projects, was invited to speak at Boston College by the Center for Ignatian Spirituality.
"I think the BC student body is a diverse group. It's a group that, as a whole community, comes from different faith backgrounds, cultural traditions, and different viewpoints," said Rev. Michael Boughton, S.J., the director of the center. "The Jesuit mission isn't in opposition to those realities, but is in dialogue with those realities."
Gray's presentation explored the different approaches scholars have used to face the challenge of pluralism on a university campus, while at the same time maintaining the integrity of a university's Catholic and Jesuit identity.
There is "the pressure to maintain a theological and ecclesiastical identity and … the pressure to achieve academic excellence," Gray said.
He identified historical research, grants, and personal experiences as three ways to develop and build up the Jesuit mission of a university, while at the same time incorporating pluralistic themes and challenges. These three approaches overlap, but are different. Gray went on to highlight that this research into the issues of pluralism and identifying and maintaining a Catholic and Jesuit identity has led to a great deal of scholarship and new books in the past few years.
Despite the progress that has been made on this topic, Gray warned his audience that "we can not pretend we have solved the conundrum of mission and diversity," which he said is not likely to ever go away.
Still, Gray was optimistic about what has been accomplished so far in furthering the dialogue and understanding about the questions of identity and pluralism on university campuses.
He looked to his own experience at John Carroll University, where he served as the rector to the Jesuit community. While there, he engaged the faculty and staff in a dialogue about how they saw the Jesuit mission of the university. He said that the professors and staff members "began to talk out of not just their professional credentials, but their human interest in helping to mold young students into good people."
Gray said that he hopes to have this sort of conversation in the next few days and that he will remain at BC for a short time to discuss the issues put forth in his lecture in even greater depth with members of the BC community.
Gray attempted to provide his audience with a background of the Jesuit mission in higher education. He cited the goals of being a great person and developing talent to serve others as key elements of the Jesuit tradition.
Those early schools were teaching students by promoting reading, writing, and conversation, Gray said, while also creating new possibilities to build up the church.
This presentation sought to address increasing concerns at Jesuit and Catholic universities about whether they can maintain their traditions while remaining aviable institutions of higher learning. Jesuit universities in particular have come under fire in this debate.
"It [the institution of Jesuit universities] is different from what it was in the '50s and '60s," Boughton said.
"Every Jesuit university is engaged in addressing on campus the Jesuit and Catholic mission of the university and engaging the Ignatian spirit that forms its basis," Boughton said. This issue in turn forms an essential part of addressing the concerns of pluralism on Catholic university campuses. At BC, the Center for Ignatian Spirituality, Campus Ministry, and Intersections attempt to address those concerns.
The center seeks "to help people engage in conversations with people who want to understand the Jesuit mission of the University," Boughton said.
Gray founded the Center for Ignatian Spirituality in 1988. He served as its director for several years. He has also served as a rector for several Jesuit university communities and the Jesuit Provincial of Detroit.
Currently, Gray serves as the assistant to the president of Georgetown for special projects, where he is considered a "highly regarded expert on Ignatian spirituality and Jesuit mission in higher education," Boughton said.
In his closing statement, Boughton said, "plurality is a challenge to find the daily beauty that surrounds us and to let it shine through the darkness that also surrounds us."
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