School of Theology – Wishbook

Relativism today has assumed the role of a civil religion in the West. The distinction between true and false seems to have been abolished. Everything is, to some extent, negotiable.

“We are building a dictatorship of relativism,” Joseph Ratzinger declared in his homily at the opening of the 2005 conclave, “that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate standard consists solely of one’s own ego and desires.”

Our commitment is evangelizing culture and society developing innovative research, remaining rooted in fidelity to Church teaching. In terms of innovation, Ratzinger opens theology to today’s world, because he speaks easily to men and women from wide-ranging and even diverging currents of thought. Ratzinger fresh and intuitive approach is fascinating, going beyond dogma. He articulates perennial values central to mankind’s greatness, yet always accompanied by tolerance and humility because truth reigns, not through violence and imposition, but rather through its own power.

Since Ratzinger’s thought converges in many aspects with our mission and vision, we initiated a Postgraduate Certificate on Ratzinger Studies in the context of the evangelization of culture. Our goal is to be the point of reference, gathering students from all over the world, eager to learn his dialogical theology and able to facilitate dialogue. The project is designed to open up new horizons for students and scholars, and proposes the integrated vision of such a leading contemporary theologian. Following Ratzinger’s thought, future Christian leaders will be taught to dialogue with contemporary society, effectively infuse perennial values in debates, and spread truth among opinion leaders, professionals and intellectuals.

We want to engage benefactors and philanthropists over a period of three years, offering them the opportunity of contributing to the growth of such a Postgraduate Certificate, which has received express encouragement from the Pope-emeritus. The charitable partnership with Regina Apostolorumcan provide thirty scholarships for three editions of the Postgraduate Certificate, in addition to developing a specialist library, offering three PhD program scholarships and organizing one international congress.

Duration: 3 years

Total cost: € 354,300

• Support to 3 PhD scholarships: €228,300 (€ 76,100 each scholarship)
• Support to 30 Postgraduate scholarships: € 81,000 (€ 2,700 each scholarship)
• Distance-learning: € 15,000
• Conference: € 15,000
• Library enrichment: € 15,000

Although half of the world’s Catholics live in the Americas, the history of the Church in this continent is little studied, and there is a dearth of scientific publications on the subject. Such a situation leaves open the possibility for incomplete visions and unilateral interpretations of historical phenomena, occasionally used nowadays to discredit the Church’s contribution to society.

Responding to this need and in order to offer history scholars a broader and more complete vision beyond the so called “black legends,” the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorumcreated the Postgraduate Diploma on History of the Church in the Americas, exploring the Church’s role as a historical subject within American societies.

The Postgraduate Diploma seeks to systematize the scientific study, leaving aside all ideological frameworks, by analyzing within a pluralist framework the Church’s contribution in shaping the cultural and historical development of the continent, in dialogue with the diverse religious-cultural traditions.

Since the Postgraduate Diploma offers a unique academic proposal, it has gained the interest of many scholars and historians, proving that it fulfills a need. Given its cultural and social relevance, we desire to engage benefactors and philanthropists in supporting the Postgraduate Diploma in achieving its full potential over a period of two years. The generous support of people committed to spreading a comprehensive interpretation of history, can help the Postgraduate Diploma with the establishment of a scholarship call for the fifteen most talented candidates, as well as the publication and dissemination of scientific texts on related topics.

Such an ambitious project involves distinguished representatives from the Holy See, as well as scholars from prestigious European and American universities and research centers.

The relevance of this project is twofold: on the one hand, it represents the first academic and scientific institutionalization of the studies of Church history in the Americas; on the other hand, the project, which brings together in Rome intellectuals and historians from the Americas, contributes to reinforcing mutual collaboration with the Holy See.

The expected impact is wide and can contribute positively on the cultural development of the continent, contributing to the establishment of cathedrae of this discipline in ecclesial and civil departments of humanities at universities throughout the Americas.

Duration: 2 years

Total cost: € 86,500

• Support to Program development: € 62,500
• Book Series Publication: € 24,000