Católica President speaks at the academic year opening at the Catholic University of Lyon

"The university does not die". This was the theme of the speech given by the President of Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Isabel Capeloa Gil, at the opening of the academic year at the Catholic University of Lyon in France on Tuesday 26 September, entitled "Universitas non moritur. The university and the anguish of the present".

Recalling that "the university does not exist to preserve itself as an institution, but to respond courageously to the challenges of the present and the future", the President of UCP emphasised that "at a time of crisis in the possibilities of knowledge, technological euphoria and permanent mistrust, the Catholic university's place is to offer hope and ensure the ability to aspire".

In her speech to the students of the French university, Isabel Capeloa Gil referred to a notable passage from Tolstoy's War and Peace in which the author states: "there was no single cause for war, but it happened simply because it had to happen". For the UCP President, "it is this feeling of imminence that generates anxiety and, at the same time, transforms the university into an eternal project, an unfinished work in continuous transformation". Thus, "the expression universitas non moritur, which in its original sense reflects on the universals of thought, also applies to the idea of this universal institution: the university".

In her reflection, Isabel Capeloa Gil commented on "the euphoria of measurement reflected in university accreditation and evaluation processes", a method that "doesn't measure the specific contribution of the knowledge created to national affirmation, but demands international benchmarking". An analysis that "devalues the uniqueness of each institution's educational offer and its own identity, in favour of dominant teaching and market needs, making it difficult for each institution to adopt different educational philosophies, and devalues education for values - typical of the Human Sciences - in favour of the effective academia of rankings".

The President argued that the university cannot only respond to the market, but that "it is up to the university to create the knowledge that will allow us to alleviate man's heritage, promote the progress of society, and respond to the perplexities we face".

Recalling the words of Pope Francis in his speech to the students of Universidade Católica Portuguesa on 3 August, the President challenged the students: "Seek and take risks. In this historical moment, the challenges are enormous, the groans painful - we are living through a third world war in pieces - but we embrace the risk of thinking that we are not in agony but in labour; we are not at the end but at the beginning of a great spectacle. It takes courage to think like that. So be the protagonists of a 'new choreography' that puts the human person at the centre, be the choreographers of the dance of life."

In conclusion, Isabel Capeloa Gil suggested that "Universitas non moritur" (the University does not die) should be our compass. "We have to work together to preserve these precious institutions, to support those who belong to them and to create an environment conducive to intellectual fulfilment and discovery. Universities do not die and, with our continued commitment, they will continue to light the way to a better future."

Isabel Capeloa Gil, President of Universidade Católica, and Fr Olivier Artus, Rector of Lyon Catholic University