By Shannon West
Staff Writer
The presentation held by the community friars on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016, questioned the meaning of the terms “Catholic” and “Franciscan” when it comes to St. Bonaventure University’s mission.
“We felt that in many ways we had a certain obligation to reiterate that [idea], from the way we see it, because we are embarking on a major curriculum revision,” said Fr. Dominic Monti, O.F.M., a member of Holy Name Province. “We are struggling like any private school our size as to our future and now adding to that the presidential transition with Sr. Margaret retiring. We friars felt that we should say something.”
According to Monti, the bylaws of the Board of Trustees are the governing documents of the university. According to the New York State constitution, state funds could only be granted to non-sectarian schools, so the university legally disestablished itself from the Catholic Church and the Franciscan Order between 1974 and 1975.
In 1975, the Board of Trustees changed from Franciscan majority to secular majority, meaning that a certain number of friars could be on the board, said Fr. Dominic.
To maintain the relationship with the Friars of the Holy Name of Jesus, in 2012, St. Bonaventure formalized the relationship with Holy Name Province to “preserve its Catholic-Franciscan character,” according to an article on the Holy Name Province website.
“Franciscans have not run the university since 1975 in terms of being governed by the university, but the Franciscan presidents and the Franciscan tradition is here,” said Fr. Dominic.
The statement, attached to a Notice Board email notification, described the changes that have taken place over the course of St. Bonaventure’s Franciscan history. It also described the different outlook that the friars have on a Catholic education and how it should be run. Fr. Dominic explained to the audience that their goals as friars in the university is to “not promote specific beliefs” but rather to “encourage people to discover “their own truths as human beings.”
“Just the word discovery; that one word takes us into the heart of who we are because we are people of content and we find our way with each other and bring new ways of coming to know,” said Fr. Dan Riley, O.F.M.
One of the key points to their joint mission statement is to highlight the importance of education and how it forms the values, attitudes and practices a person holds, but before starting with academics, the friar community started with community as “the reality of being sisters and brothers on a journey together.” The friars also emphasized the importance of treating one another with “courtesy, mutual respect and all kinds of love,” according to Fr. Dominic.
“When people are who they present themselves to be, that is inspiring and we are seeing that all over the place,” said Fr. Michael Calabria, O.F.M. “What you present yourself to be falls second to the fact that you do it and are authentically who you say you are. The world is on fire for that, and I think the world is on fire for what the Catholic-Franciscan heritage has to offer it.”
The statement can be downloaded off of the St. Bonaventure Notice Board.
westsm14@bonaventure.edu
