The Saint Ignatius Institute (SII) is an undergraduate program at the University of San Francisco (USF), a private university operated by the USA West Province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuit Order) in San Francisco, California, United States.
In the 25 years after its inception in 1976, the SII granted its Certificate of Liberal Arts to approximately 1,000 students.J. Schall, S.J., "The St. Ignatius Institute" , National Catholic Register (January 20, 2001) During these years the SII generated both controversy and accolades due to its greater advocacy for Catholic doctrine within a diverse, more liberal Jesuit institution. It has since changed into a less dogmatic living-learning community, with Catholic doctrine playing a smaller part in its curriculum.
Founding and Great Books curriculum In 1976 a group of educatorsThe group included John Galten, Fr Francis P. Filice, the Rev. Brian Mullady, OP, et al. founded what their leader, the Rev. Joseph Fessio, S.J., called "a completely integrated liberal arts program in the Jesuit tradition."Cornelius M. Buckley, "The Saint Ignatius Institute: A Traditional Catholic College," in America, March 25, 1978. Fessio described SII as adhering to a more traditional Jesuit approach to education.Cornelius M. Buckley, Ibid; See also: comments by SII Director, Thomas O'Neill, S.J., in Todd Wouters,"A Changing Environment at USF forces Jesuits to Redefine Their Educational Mission," San Francisco Foghorn (Oct. 26, 2006)
The four-year-long sequence of studies in the liberal arts was designed to follow a method of seminars and lectures based on the students' reading of the Great Books of the Western World, in a roughly historical order."Institute and University Move Forward Together," USF News 10:8 (Apr. 11, 2001]: "The 25-year-old St. Ignatius Institute, with 150 students currently enrolled, is a unique Great Books program rooted in the Catholic tradition. Courses are taught by College of Arts and Sciences faculty through seminars with accompanying lecture courses, organized in historical sequence, in literature, philosophy, and theology." The reading list mostly resembled those at other undergraduate colleges offering Great Books programs such as St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, and at Thomas Aquinas College, in Santa Paula, California.
SII students would read and discuss the same works from the official reading list of Great Books authors chosen for their impact on the intellectual life of Western Civilization, from various religious and philosophical traditions. For instance, in their first semester, freshmen read works by ancient Greeks and Semites, including Homer, Aristophanes, Sappho, and the Epic of Gilgamesh.St. Ignatius Institute Prospectus(1984) At the same time, the SII also drew upon and emphasized Roman Catholic contributions to the Western tradition, as represented by such Catholic authors as the early Church Fathers, St. Augustine, Boethius, St. Thomas Aquinas, Dante, Chaucer and Miguel de Cervantes, as well as more recent Catholic thinkers like John Henry Newman, G. K. Chesterton, and the fathers of the Second Vatican Council.
Like Thomas Aquinas College, the SII espoused academic freedom by not limiting admissions to applicants of any religious or philosophical belief.As a program within the University of San Francisco, the SII followed the University's non-discrimination policy, as stated in the official USF catalog: "The University of San Francisco admits students of any race, religion, sex, color, handicap, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, national and/or ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarships...." in University of San Francisco 1984-85 Catalog, p. 7 Students tended to be Catholic, but some non-Catholics became students"SI Institute: Complex Tapestry," USF Monday Bulletin (Dec. 7, 1987): "Most of the 157 students are Catholic; fewer than 10 percent are not." and faculty members.
Unlike some other institutions with Great Books curricula, the SII operates within a larger university and does not constitute an alternative to the obligatory major that USF students declare before graduation. The original program was strong in the humanities (languages, literature, composition (language), philosophy, theology) but had a weaker offering in mathematics and the natural sciences."St. Ignatius Institute," in The University of San Francisco Catalogue, 1984 Students who fulfilled the requirements of the SII were awarded a Certificate in the Liberal Arts, by which USF and the SII certified that the student had achieved USF's core education requirements toward an undergraduate degree."Institute and University Move Forward Together," , USF News 10:8 (Apr. 11, 2001)
Controversies For its first quarter-century, the SII was a lightning rod of controversy within the university and among more progressive members of the Roman Catholic Church. Some members of the university criticized what one scholar called a "parti pris"The phrase was that of the university theologian and critic of the SII, Fr. Bernadicou, see: "St. Ignatius Institute founder fired, future uncertain," National Catholic Register, July 12, 1987, p. 9: Bernadicou asks: "Does the program, as it's now oriented, do justice to the classics they read or are they read from a parti pris position? Do they let the books speak for themselves?" approach to education with a narrow Catholic – mostly papal – perspective.
Faculty of the SII clashed with members and friends of USF's Department of Theology who objected to SII's practice of hiring theology professors for SII classes rather than relying upon the Department of Theology to provide these faculty.University of San Francisco College of Arts and Sciences, "Department of Theology and Religious Studies Self-Study", (April 2004) The SII rejected interference by the Department of Theology because it wanted to maintain a strong adherence to theological positions loyal to the current Pope and Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church, especially on moral matters such as contraception, abortion, and homosexuality.K. Yamanouchi, "Students, staff protest consolidation of Jesuit institute, The Washington Times, March 31, 2001, p. A11 Eventually the differences between the SII and the Department of Theology were symbolized by their contrasting responses to Ex Corde Ecclesiae issued by Pope John Paul II in 1990. The papal document called for a mandatum to be signed by professors of Catholic doctrine as a testament to the instructor's orthodoxy. The SII faculty signed the mandatum as a self-defining act.The Associated Press, "At Catholic university, conservatives feel silenced" , The Berkeley Daily Planet (March 25, 2001) But USF and the Department of Theology resisted signing the mandatum, as did theologians in many other U.S. Catholic universities in a controversy that continued for over a decade.Pamela Schaeffer,"Down to the wire: the mandatum debate - license to teach Catholic theology" , National Catholic Reporter (June 15, 2001)
Various events also sparked debate, with the SII's continued existence frequently called into question. In 1978, the SII hosted a symposiumHumanae Vitae: Encyclical Letter of His Holiness Pope Paul VI, Fifteenth Anniversary Commemorative Edition (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, July 1983), prepared by the Rev. Marc Caligari, S.J., "on the occasion of the symposium of July, 1978, sponsored by the Archdiocese of San Francisco and by the St. Ignatius Institute of the University of San Francisco commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Encyclical's promulgation," p. 4 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the promulgation of Humanae Vitae, the encyclical by Pope Paul VI condemning contraception."Letter of The Holy Father Paul VI, signed by the Secretary of State, to Msgr. John Raphael Quinn, Archbishop of San Francisco" , 21 July 1978 British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge delivered the keynote address, arguing that contraception is a lethal threat to Christian civilization. Another speaker, Fr. Gerald Coleman, dean of St. Patrick's Seminary, Menlo Park, California, delivered a paper for the minority at the symposium, expressing opposition to the keynote address and arguing for "allowing theological dissent and reception of communion by couples practicing artificial birth control.""Humanae Vitae's Tenth Anniversary" , Fellowship of Catholic Scholars Newsletter, 1:4 (Sept. 1978) p.2
In 1987, USF's campus minister denied access on Sundays for the SII's popular but controversial chaplain, Fr. Cornelius M. Buckley, to celebrate Mass, alleging that his liturgies fostered a cult-like following. Critics of the decision expressed regret at the loss of variety in styles of liturgical worship at USF caused by the campus minister's ruling. Some described Buckley's liturgical approach as more "simple" and "solemn."E. Leiva-Merikakis, "Cult, Culty, and Cultic," The Foghorn, March 6, 1987
Also in 1987, the SII faced its greatest crisis to date when the university president fired Fr. Fessio from his position as the SII's first director, over a disagreement concerning the use of a $1 million gift that San Francisco benefactress, Mrs. Louise Davies,Obit. by Marjorie Mader, "People: Louise M. Davies remembered for her generosity; longtime Woodside resident was benefactor of the symphony," The Almanac (July 01, 1998) gave to the SII.Don Lattin, "Pope's help sought in theology class at USF/School protests over orthodox institute" , San Francisco Chronicle (Mar. 28, 2001)"Father Fessio Fired" , Fellowship of Catholic Scholars Newsletter, 10:4 (Sept. 1987) p.10] Fr. Robert Maloney, S.J., succeeded Fessio as director."SI Institute: Complex Tapestry," USF Monday Bulletin (Dec. 7, 1987); cf.Obituary: Robert L Maloney , San Francisco Chronicle, 2007-8-25 Fessio continued to teach theology at USF and in the SII until 1992, when he resigned to spend more time developing Ignatius Press, the lay-run publishing house he directs in San Francisco."Conservative St. Ignatius Institute revamped" , National Catholic Reporter Feb. 16, 2001; cf. "History of Ignatius Press," at Ignatius Insight
Controversy again erupted in 1988 when the USF student government required that an SII student who was the editor-in-chief of the university's award-winning newspaper, the San Francisco Foghorn, accept a co-editorship arrangement in the interests of journalistic objectivity."USF school paper changes editors." National Catholic Register, May 29, 1988
Additional controversies took place during the term of the SII's third director, John Galten. Under his watch the SII's faculty had to design a course in Asian philosophy to satisfy pressure from the university to incorporate non-western sources into the curriculum.Stanley Kurtz, "Save NEH, Save St. Ignatius: Battles in the war," National Review Online (Feb. 12, 2001) : "In fact, several years ago, SII added the Koran, the Analects of Confucius, and the Hindu Ramayana to its great books curriculum." A renewed clash was brought on by the transfer of the SII's chaplain, C.M. Buckley, away from San Francisco.George Neumayr, "Faithful Jesuit Told to Leave USF ," San Francisco Faith, 1998 Buckley, a published historian and translator with decades of university teaching experience, assigned as chaplain for a Catholic hospital in Duarte, California, where Fessio would be assigned by his Jesuit provincial superior some years later.