The Catholic Identity of the University

The Catholic Identity Of The University is expressed by the visibility of Catholic values in all aspects of the life of the university.

From its earliest years, the Catholic Church has built a deep tradition of intellectual exploration beginning with the liberal arts that made possible a dialogue with the cultures of the Greek and Roman societies. Through the ages, that impulse has continued as Catholic scholars have shared in the pursuit of truth, conscientiously applying the methods of their respective disciplines to advance knowledge wherever their work might lead them. Today, we continue that tradition at Thomas More University, inviting our students into the quest to expand the range of human knowledge. Section 29 of Ex Corde Ecclesiae expressed the sense of this effort: “The Church, accepting ‘the legitimate autonomy of human culture and especially of the sciences’, recognizes the academic freedom of scholars in each discipline in accordance with its own principles and proper methods (28), and within the confines of the truth and the common good.”

The value of the human person is nourished in the community and reflected in the goals and process of the education offered at Thomas More University. The dignity of the human person is rooted in his/her creation in the image of God (CCC, 1700).

All members of the community, students, staff, and faculty, are respected and treated with compassion and justice. All forms of labor contribute to the building up of creation and society and as such have equal dignity.

Efforts are made within the Thomas More community to overcome or eradicate as contrary to God’s intent every type of discrimination. (Gaudium et Spes, n. 29.)

The ultimate goal of the education provided at Thomas More University is to enhance the full humanity of each student by increasing their ability to freely choose the true, the good, and the beautiful.

Students are not regarded as consumers nor as products but as persons who are active, responsible subjects developing more awareness of their relationship to God, self, and others, and assuming more and more ability to freely choose the good.

A Catholic university is responsible for contributing concretely to the progress of the society within which it works. “The Christian spirit of service to others for the promotion of human dignity and the common good and well-being of all is shared by a Catholic University’s teachers and developed in its students.” (Ex Corde § 34) At Thomas More University we promote this principle by teaching our students about their place in the world and their responsibility to others. We act on this principle by encouraging and supporting our faculty and students to provide service to others locally, nationally, and worldwide.