• Home »
  • Faith »
  • Vatican »
  • Pope asks cardinals to try to resolve conflict with Peruvian university
hand and heart

The recent post office troubles have impacted our regular fundraising efforts. Please consider supporting the Register and Catholic journalism by using one of the methods below:

  • Donate online
  • Donate by e-transfer to accounting@catholicregister.org
  • Donate by telephone: 416-934-3410 ext. 406 or toll-free 1-855-441-4077 ext. 406
Cardinal Gerald Lacroix of Quebec is one of three cardinals appointed by Pope Francis to try to resolve a long-standing dispute with a Peruvian university and see if it would be possible to restore the university's designation as "pontifical" and "Catholic."
Cardinal Gerald Lacroix of Quebec is one of three cardinals appointed by Pope Francis to try to resolve a long-standing dispute with a Peruvian university and see if it would be possible to restore the university's designation as "pontifical" and "Catholic." CNS photo/Paul Haring

Pope asks cardinals to try to resolve conflict with Peruvian university

By 
  • April 29, 2014

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis has appointed three cardinals, including Cardinal Gerald Lacroix of Quebec, to try to resolve a long-standing dispute with a Peruvian university and see if it would be possible to restore the university's designation as "pontifical" and "Catholic."

The rector of the former Pontifical Catholic University of Peru in Lima released a statement April 28 saying, "The Holy Father, Pope Francis, has formed a commission of cardinals with the mission of meeting to find a 'final, consensual solution,' in the framework of the apostolic constitution 'Ex Corde Ecclesiae,' to the outstanding issues" between the Vatican and the university.

In addition to Cardinal Lacroix, Pope Francis appointed Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdo of Esztergom-Budapest and Chilean Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati Andrello of Santiago. Cardinal Erdo, a canon lawyer, had conducted an apostolic visitation of the university in 2011 at the request of the Vatican.

The Vatican press office confirmed the appointment of the cardinals, but gave no other details.

Under Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, then the Vatican secretary of state, issued a decree in July 2012 withdrawing the titles "Catholic" and "pontifical" from the university "on the basis of a specific papal mandate." The university has continued using both titles.

The Vatican, in its 2012 communique, said that since 1967, the university's governing body repeatedly and "unilaterally modified its statutes with serious prejudice to the interests of the church."

Beginning in 1990, the Vatican said, it repeatedly asked the university to rewrite its statutes in accordance with the principles outlined in "Ex Corde Ecclesiae," the 1990 apostolic constitution on guaranteeing the identity and mission of Catholic colleges. The Vatican said the university had a "legal obligation" to adopt the norms called for in the constitution, and students of the university had a right to attend a university that was recognized by the Vatican as Catholic.

The university had been mired in a long-standing dispute with the Archdiocese of Lima over property willed to the university more than half a century ago. Lima Cardinal Juan Cipriani Thorne has publicly questioned the way the university manages the inheritance and has insisted on more transparency and accountability to the archdiocese.

Tagged under:

Related items

More in this category: « Vatican says bureaucratic reforms won’t happen until 2015 Pope: New attitude of 'evangelical service' must take hold at Vatican »

Please support The Catholic Register

Unlike many media companies, The Catholic Register has never charged readers for access to the news and information on our website. We want to keep our award-winning journalism as widely available as possible. But we need your help.

For more than 125 years, The Register has been a trusted source of faith-based journalism. By making even a small donation you help ensure our future as an important voice in the Catholic Church. If you support the mission of Catholic journalism, please donate today. Thank you.

DONATE