Catholic Higher Education

20. But it is not only in the education of children that religion claims her rights. There was a time when the government of every university (especially the University of Paris) subordinated all branches of study to theology to the extent that nobody was considered to have reached the heights of knowledge unless he had obtained a doctorate in theology. The restorer of the Augustan age, Leo X and after him the other popes, wanted the Roman Athenaeum and the other universities to be like strong fortresses at a period when impious wars raged against the church. Here, under the guidance and the inspiration of Christian wisdom, youth would receive its education. This system of studies which put God and religion in first place produced excellent results. Certainly it ensured that the youth thus educated remained more faithful to their duties. These happy results will be repeated among you if you strive energetically to have the rights of religion respected in your secondary schools, gymnasia, lycaea, and academies.