Voyaging Towards a Shared Purpose: Catholic Mission and Identity in Action
The Supreme Student Council as represented by Mr. Clark Ballad, together with the University President, Rev. Fr. Macwayne Maniwang, CICM, PhD., the University Vice President for Mission and Identity, Rev. Fr. John Mark Barroga, CICM, Engr. Marvin Silva and Mr. Jonard Batang—expressed our institution's commitment by participating in a three-day conference last week by the Association of Catholic Universities of the Philippines (ACUP).
The ideals of the occasion were embodied in the theme, “Fostering Fraternal Collaboration among Catholic Universities for a Shared Future and Nation.” Set in the backdrop of Bacolod, it is a salient whisper of hope among all God's children—revealing our inherent responsibility towards ourselves and our neighbor. It calls for a more nuanced understanding of the values of fraternity, collaboration, and synodality based on cultural and social affairs—particularly among students in Catholic Universities. It is a tunnel for conveying crucial knowledge in confronting the Philippine education system issues and developing appropriate courses of action to protect and empower the well-being of learners and educators. Ultimately, it aims to integrate ideas to improve and embolden those involved in Catholic education for a future in which we are eager to participate. Indeed, ingrained in the immortal passage of St. Francis de Assisi, the Fratelli Tutti, literally “All Brothers and Sisters,” it matters now that we have to march towards combatting the ails of society, together with our sentiment that hope, after all, can never be vanquished, to formulate ideas that would promise a secure and livable tomorrow. In lieu of specific issues such as the educational crisis—which we fear, with its increasing severity, would inevitably deny the future for most of the younger generation, we believe that there ought to be a concrete plan for developing measures to assist those most affected. As the vanguards of the student community, student leaders should not be confined within the walls of their respective universities, as they, too, face the danger of this dilemma—therefore, they must take part in venturing into pathways such as through learning the gradations of the social fabric. After all, we stand by the wisdom of the Church—to simply love God and our neighbors as we love ourselves. We can deliver this love by allowing ourselves to work with others, investing our talents and ideas in crafting meaningful plans, and becoming one with the call.
