Isabel Capeloa Gil: "The university as a project of hope"
"In a time of crisis of the possibility of knowing, of paradoxical technological euphoria on the one hand and permanent distrust on the other, the place of the Catholic university is to propose hope," are the words of the President of the Universidade Católica, Isabel Capeloa Gil, in the article "The university as a project of hope", published at the invitation of L'Osservatore Romano, on the occasion of Pope Francis' visit to the Universidade Católica.
In this article, Isabel Capeloa Gil emphasises the role of the university, which brings together: "the search for knowledge in favour of improving the human condition, the ethical discernment that guides the possibility of choosing and acting, the cultivation of beauty and the aesthetic gesture that is also a search for meaning in the world." That's why she defines the university as "a curator of knowledge, a philosopher of action and a manager of beauty."
And, for the President of the Universidade Católica, it is in the integration "of knowledge and cosmopolitanism, ethically structured and innovative" that "the specific value proposition of a Catholic higher education makes itself felt". This is why she highlights the "Economy of Francis and Clare" Chair, launched by Católica on the occasion of Pope Francis' visit to the University.
Inspired "by the spirituality of St Francis and St Clare", as the President explains, the new Chair aims to promote debate on a number of questions: "How can theology help preserve biodiversity? How can literary studies promote human rights? How can data science combat poverty?".
In this sense, Isabel Capeloa Gil emphasises the importance of the role of the Universidade Católica "because it stems from a specific Christian humanist vision of existence," she says. However, in her opinion, "we must constantly challenge ourselves" because "the university does not exist to preserve itself as an institution, but to respond with courage to the challenges of the present and the future."