College Life
Pontifical, Royal, and Catholic: Musings about Theology in the University of Santo Tomas
As the only Pontifical, Royal, and Catholic university in Asia, the University of Santo Tomas (UST) enjoys special status in the Church hierarchy. The 412-year-old University is one of the established religious institutions in the Philippines propagating the Gospel through Catholic education, with roots extending back to colonial times.
The Holy See exercises jurisdiction over UST, from the approval of major University projects such as the Quadricentennial Pavillion, even to the appointment of a Rector Magnificus, which serves as the University’s chief executive and academic officer.
If the University of the Philippines is the national university, then the University of Santo Tomas is the church’s university.
It has been a common myth for almost all Thomasians (and even for non-Thomasians) that the UST Main Building is a church. I haven’t been there though, and I haven’t had the same thought. I thought it would be absurd for a university to have its central building house a church. Where will the important offices go? But then again, UST is a pontifical, royal, and catholic university. Heck, it has been visited by three popes!
Anyway, it is not a church. It houses the key offices of the University, the UST Museum, the UST Faculty of Civil Law, and the UST Faculty of Pharmacy. The church you’re looking for is on the Padre Noval side of the campus, the Santissimo Rosario Parish.
But I think the existence of such myth encapsulates the recurring notion that the University is so enveloped with Catholic tradition and values, that almost everyone thinks that they’re in a holy ground when they step inside UST.
Being founded by the third Archbishop of Manila, Miguel de Benavides, UST bears unto itself the responsibility to preach the Gospel. This they do, I believe, in three different ways: through the formation of future laypersons of the Church in its Ecclesiastical Faculties; through the teaching of Theology in all undergraduate students; and through community development and outreach. I will focus on the second one, as an undergraduate Thomasian.
Under the General Statutes of the University, an undergraduate student has to take a three-unit course in Theology in their first and second years. It is a required course a Thomasian has to take regardless of their religious affiliation. (Quick side note: even the General Statutes of the University has to be approved by the Holy See.)
Say what you want about the Catholic faith, it is well within the University’s right to teach Theology as a way of propagating the Gospel. After all, they’re under the supervision of the Pope. And as a special educational institution guided by the Dominicans, it is their institutional responsibility to preach the Gospel, just as responsibility of the faithful to do the same.
I also believe that this is in exercise of one of the primary principles of academic freedom: what can be taught. To say that UST should not be teaching Theology is akin to saying that UP should not be teaching Philippine Studies.
My problems with Thomasian Theology
But notwithstanding UST’s exercise of its academic freedom, I have some problems with the way the University teaches Theology to us undergraduate students.
My problem with Thomasian Theology is that it doesn’t teach us about the role of Catholic faith in our daily life. I am a devout Catholic. I can still vividly remember crying ceaselessly when I saw Pope Francis in Luneta. But whenever I enter my class in Theology, it feels necrophilic and unending.
All that it teaches us is that God loves us and whatever feel-good Christian dogma can be composed out there.
Just this week, we were required to go to our institutional recollection. In that event, we were required to submit selfies we took in our family altar, as a proof that we attended the activity. I think by that standard alone, it is plain disappointing to see it come to this. That it has to be required for someone to take an unflattering picture at the family altar just to profess our faith.
The way Theology is being taught doesn’t teach us to be critical about our Catholic life; instead, it forces us to swallow it whole without fully understanding what it is all about.
It doesn’t make us examine our faith; instead, it makes us question why are we here, and why is the Church like this?
Revamping Theology
As I am writing this, I realize how little I can do to realize this vision. I am just a student in a heavily bureaucratic University supervised by a hierarchical religious institution steeped in tradition and history thousands of kilometers away from Manila.
But that doesn’t stop me from envisioning a path forward to revitalize Theology, allowing UST to remain committed to its responsibility of preaching the Gospel.
First: Theology must be critical. It must allow for the students to formulate and ask questions themselves about the Catholic faith, and how can it be of use to transform themselves and the nation in a rational, practical sense.
Second, Theology must be liberating. Theology must uncover truths about our own faith, even if one does not subscribe to Catholicism, or other denominations. We must learn how faith can be of use to recognize systems of oppression and realize our own potential for meaningful change. And third:
It must recognize the ways with which the Christian faith has been utilized to justify hate and bigotry amongst members of our society, most particularly that of the LGBTQIA+ community;
It must recognize the failings of the Church to establish a spiritual connection with its own members;
It must recognize the failures of its laypersons to remain true and committed to its compassionate teachings;
It must assess how the Church stands in modern society, its shortcomings and mishaps, and how to go from there;
And it must recognize that the way that it is being taught must be updated with the times.
I envision a Theology that is grounded and not absolutist.
Conclusion
Granted, I may be writing this piece because I feel so strongly about our Theology course. Precisely yes.
I am afraid that maybe, a university official may come to read this piece and see this as a criticism of the University. May I just say, if ever you’re that official: please don’t be onion-skinned with criticism. There’s criticism precisely for the University to do better.
I don’t know everything, but I know something. I am aware of the limitations of my knowledge. Yes, I haven’t read books about liberation theology.
But may this serve as an expression of hope that in the modern times, Catholic faith can still and will flourish endlessly, with God’s unending grace.
