A Reason Open to God ─ On Universities, Education, and Culture

With clarity and wisdom, Pope Benedict XVI sets out his vision for
Catholic higher education in this first and only collection of his major
addresses on the topic. What is the mission and identity of a Catholic
university? What are the responsibilities of administrators, teachers,
and students in Catholic institutes of higher learning? Where does the
central theme of "love of God and others" fit into academia?

The pope's most important statements on the nature of the university
and its cultural and educative tasks are brought together in this volume.
Featured are the various speeches he has given to university audiences
since his pontificate began. Also included are select addresses on
education and culture, themes that go to the heart of the mission of the
university, and that possess a value for society as a whole.

Throughout these addresses, the pope presents 2,000 years of lived
tradition with a striking freshness. His response to the contemporary
challenges in Catholic higher education will have an enduring historical
impact.

The addresses are grouped in parts as follows: The Problem and the Urgent
Task Ahead; The Relationship of Faith and Reason; The Symphony
of Freedom and Truth; Education and Love; Pedagogy and Learning;
The Church—Education in Faith and Community; Culture and the University;
Science, Technology, and Theology; and Caritas and Mission. John Garvey, president of the Catholic University of America, provides a foreword in which he reflects on the themes of the pope's speeches. J. Steven Brown is editor of the collection.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Born in 1927 in Germany as Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI became head
of the Roman Catholic Church in April 2005. A prolific author, theologian, and professor,
Ratzinger served as an expert at the Second Vatican Council; led the German
Archdiocese of Munich and Freising; and, in 1981, was called to Rome by Pope John
Paul II to head the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, where he
served until his papal election.