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Catholic Universities in Latin America |
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24/11/2009 (2:18)
After being postponed for more than three months and transferred from its initial hosting university in Honduras because of the country’s political situation, the 23rd General Assembly of the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU) recently came to an end at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
“We were ready in Honduras to welcome this assembly. Many of the rectors and representatives of several universities expressed their great regret to me because they were already prepared to come [to Honduras]. My answer for everyone, given happily and with a smile, was: Honduras is still there, the Catholic University of Honduras is still there, and I am still here as well. So, everyone is welcome, even though it is not for this assembly; Honduras is ready to welcome the entire world.”
According to Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Catholic universities in Latin America play an essential role in the promotion of authentic and integral human development.
“The Church’s social doctrine, when practiced by all those who attend Catholic universities, is the best fight against injustice and poverty, against all the evils that particularly afflict Latin America.”
The Grand Chancellor of the Catholic University of Honduras underscored a feature that members of the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU) can appreciate about Catholic Universities in Latin America.
“I believe that one of the things we can teach is that abundant economic means are not always necessary so as to have quality universities. I believe that this is discouraging in many places -- seeing the costs and how very sophisticated facilities are demanded. It is true that there are requirements, for example, for those in the European Union or Nordic countries, which are in fact very big. However, we definitely have quality universities in Latin America and we do not need too many economic means.”
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