Why Catholic university education matters

IN his book Runaway World, Anthony Giddens pictures the world with globalization and de-traditionalization as its backdrop. While people become more acquainted with previously unknown realities, traditional institutions — like religions, communities, cultures and governments — appear to lose their significance and influence over us.

Globalization has been the catalyst of scientific and technological progress, but it came with what Giddens calls "manufactured risks." Knowledge production increased exponentially across all scientific disciplines at a pace faster than it ever was. Its speed and volume, by and large, can dislodge people from the grounding of culture, tradition and even faith. This phenomenon makes the role of Catholic universities more challenging and urgent.