Jordan, the Catholic University is Founded
08/26/2011
In Madaba registrations are open at the university wanted by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and Benedict XVI. It will accommodate up to 8,000 students
GIORGIO BERNARDELLI
ROME
THE CAPITAL OF JORDAN
It opens its doors right in the middle of the Arab spring. And this is not a mere coincidence. For the past few weeks at Madaba – a Jordanian city 35 kilometres from Amman – registrations are open for a new Catholic University of the Middle East strongly desired by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, whose jurisdiction includes even the Catholics of Jordan. It was Benedict XVI himself, during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in May 2009,who laid the cornerstone of this new university. In these two years it has taken the name of “American University of Madaba”, in the name of a partnership with the University of New Hampshire, which has strongly committed itself to supporting the initiative. But it remains a university that is fully recognized by Jordan, whose High Council for Education in 2005 assigned to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem the license to open its own university. This project has now become a reality: in October the courses of the first academic year will begin in the already completed wing of a large campus that, once finished, will accommodate up to 8,000 students.
“Everyone would like to open a university today in Jordan”, explains the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, “and the fact that the Government has given this license to us and not to others is a recognition of the work done by our schools, operating here since 1849. We have more than one hundred schools with 70,000 pupils, and our schools are always open to everyone, Christians and Muslims. Just to round out this educative offering, my predecessor, Michel Sabbah, wanted this university: until now, there was no Catholic university in Jordan”. It will be an institution not only at the service of this Arab country: many students, for example, are expected from the Gulf countries. All will be offered training at a high scientific level, with a clear vision of society. “We want to create through culture an environment of sincerity, of openness to others”, continues the Patriarch of Jerusalem. “As we all know, in this region there are extremist schools, on both sides: this is meant to be our response, with an institution that prepares leaders for a society that is calm, serene, open to all. I strongly believe in the role of education to prepare for peace and coexistence”.
It is precisely here that the discourse on the Arab spring is inserted. After the initial enthusiasm, today among Christians of the Middle East, fear tends to prevail of the Islamic wave that may result from the collapse of the regimes. “I remain in favour of the Arab Spring”, answered Archbishop Twal. “I just hope that it’s really a spring and not an autumn, where everything becomes dry. The truth is that we are all taking a leap into the void: we know what we want to change, but we have no certainty about where we will arrive. It’s a bit like when a traffic light turns green and everyone rushes in. Who will lead this spring in the end? This is my real concern. Some of those who in Egypt and Tunisia, initially, did not participate in these movements, are now are well placed to take advantage and throw us into their ideology. That is why, against these drives, it has become even more important for us to promote these educational institutions open to all. Realities such as the University of Madaba indicate a road, they represent a choice of how we want the future to help calm people and to build together a society that is really new”.
The American University of Madaba will offer seven majors: engineering, health sciences, information technology, science, economics and finance, art and design, languages and communications. For the 2011/2012 academic year, we will start with eighteen degree tracks. In addition to classroom study, once the whole project is completed, students will have a modern campus with labs, sports facilities, meeting places, and free internet access with a wireless network. In addition, agreements are already underway with eight universities abroad for cooperation and student exchange programs: there are two American universities (Notre Dame and Gannon), five Italian universities (Catholic University, Milan Polytechnical, and the Universities of Pavia, Genoa and Enna) and one Hungarian university (Pazmany Peter Catholic University).
