With Catholic university's status in the balance, Cardinal Cipriani urges dialogue

Lima, Peru, Aug 30, 2011 / 12:11 pm

Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani of Lima, Peru is calling for a peaceful end to the ongoing conflict between his archdiocese and the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru that could cost the school its Catholic status.

“There are no winners or losers. We need to set aside our arrogance and pride. We need to build bridges. We need to seek out the good. The country is seeking peace, the country is seeking development for everyone, a united family close to God,” the cardinal said during his program Dialogue of Faith on Aug. 27.
 
Cardinal Cipriani’s comments were in reference to the conflict that resulted from a decision by the Pontifical University in 2007 to deny the Archdiocese of Lima the right to have a seat on its board of directors.  The decision went against the wishes expressed in the will of the late Jose de la Riva Aguero, the Catholic intellectual who donated the land on which the university is built on.
 
In 2010, Peru’s Constitutional Court ruled the archdiocese had the right to be on the board, but until now the university has not followed the ruling.
 
The latest act of defiance by the university came on August 19, 2011, when it refused to follow a Vatican order to modify its statutes so they agree with “Ex Corde Ecclesiae”--Pope John Paul II’s document on Catholic universities. The Vatican said that the changes must be made if the university wants to maintain its status as a Pontifical and Catholic institution.
 
Additionally, university officials were told they must recognize the right of the Archbishop of Lima to select the school’s rector from among three candidates proposed by the University Assembly.
 
Amidst the ongoing conflict, Cardinal Cipriani reiterated his call for dialogue. “Let us lift the veil from our eyes, the pride from our minds, let us take the road of peace and understanding, but let the truth always prevail,” he said.