Dear President Tetlow; Father Rector; professors, staff, and students; dear friends,

The page of the  Gospel that has just been proclaimed is part of the itinerary of Jesus toward Jerusalem, which unfolds as a succession of teachings and recommendations.

The question posed by John: “We saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us,” describes well the rigid pattern within which they, like us, would like to imprison the freedom of the Spirit, who always blows where and how he wills.

It is interesting to note that in the previous passage the disciples divided themselves from each other in the name of their individual “I.” Here they separate from others in the name of their collective “we.” One’s own name, whether individual or collective, is the principle of division; only the “Name,” only the “Name,” which is the name of Jesus, is a source of unity among all.

We all know that he who loves enjoys the good of others, while the egoist does not enjoy the good, but only his own possession, and hurts the good of others. Egoism produces suffering proportional to suffering. Through it, death entered the world.

Selfishness, envy and pride can have both the personal and collective forms. The latter, much more harmful, can grow so vast and apparent that it turns invisible to the individual, who can continue to live by dedication, service, and humility towards his “we”—like a bandit remains loyal to the gang.

Our true unity is to go after Him, who leads us out of all fences and opens us to others, starting with the most distant and excluded. Being with Him, the Son, unites us to the Father and to our brothers and sisters, and forms a “we” that is not confined by a hedge of ownership, but driven by an internal drive of sympathy towards all.

In the name of Jesus, the church embraces everyone and excludes no one. This means that no one in the church can remain anonymous—that is, without, or even worse, not in Jesus’ name, and consequently without knowledge of him. In other names, personal or collective, ghettos, partisan spirits, sects and exclusions are born.

But he who excludes one, excludes Him who has made himself the last of all. In doing so, he fails to be Catholic, universal, and even Christian: He does not yet have the Spirit of the Son who, knowing the Father’s love, died for all brothers and sisters.

The stronger our union with Him, the stronger the unity among us. This unity in full freedom—our our own and that of others.

The disciples form a community, a “we,” which is the church. Yet, the church does not have its centre in itself. It does not take a census to feel strong, nor does it seek its own glory. It serves only the Lord, and is open to all, with willingness and humility.

As long as it seeks unity in Him, it is one and remains free, liberating and Catholic. However, it must always beware of collective pride, typical of the weak that becomes gregarious. This is how divisions arise among believers who consider themselves better and more faithful to the truth, thinking they have God with them.

We Christians are not the masters of salvation, given to us by Christ. Although we have different responsibilities or better vocations within the church, we Christians only have the task of making the person of Christ encounter, among ourselves and others, through our witness, our word, and our actions.

As Christians we are called to follow the example, the teaching and the generosity of Jesus, who assures at that the simplest deed done for Him or His Kingdom will not go unrewarded even if it is as simple and natural as giving a glass of water to someone who is thirsty.

Unfortunately, too often we behave like the Apostles in this passage—we are less generous than our Lord. We are less generous than our Lord. Even worse, our one concern becomes the hoarding of the grace of God, refusing to give freely what we received freely. Sometimes, we even envy the good done by others, as if their good deeds diminish our own or make us appear less virtuous. Our duty as Christians is to extend to others the grace we have received and to encourage the good that is being done, regardless of whether we receive credit for it.

There is a latin proverb that says: bonum diffusivum est sui, that is, goodness spreads itself. God, in His nature, shines with goodness, and spreads goodness. He is always surrounding us with signs of His love, always seeking to fill our hearts with wisdom, grace, mercy, and virtue.

But if Jesus is so generous, why do we so often fail to experience His generosity? If God’s goodness is like the sun, shining brightly and constantly all around us, why do we so often find ourselves in darkness, sadness, and difficulty?

Often, we fail to see God’s light shining in our lives, because we don’t bother to open the shutters. It can be a bright, beautiful day outside, but if we lock ourselves up in our room behind closed shutters and drawn curtains, we will not benefit from the light.

God is respectful of our freedom. He wants our friendship, not blind obedience. He gives us countless opportunities and instruments to receive His generous grace, but He does not force us to use them. He gives us the Sacred Scriptures, the gift of prayer, the sacraments of the Eucharist and Confession, each one of which is a flowing fountain of grace and spiritual strength—but it is up to us to come frequently and drink deeply from this spring.

Dear friends, God is generous, and His infinite generosity calls for openness and unity, including within the Fordham community. On your website, one can read that one of your core principles is to care for others. The Gospel reminds us not to hinder those who do good in His name and to stay vigilant over our own hearts. The Holy Spirit desires welcoming communities, and Fordham, as a Catholic university following the Jesuit traditions in this city of New York, is uniquely positioned to appreciate and foster the creativity with which God acts.

As we experience God’s generosity in this Holy Mass, let us therefore thank Him from the bottom of our hearts and seek the grace and courage to open the shutters of our souls, embracing openness and support.

Nothing would please Him more. Amen.

“Always being available comes at the price of never being free,” Cardinal Parolin said in his dinner speech. “In reality, the digital space, which potentially is the world of unlimited connections and interactions, is a lonely place.” 

The Pro Pontifice Dinner, co-sponsored by Fordham and CAPP-USA—the U.S. affiliate of a Vatican foundation—is a longtime tradition that celebrates Catholic social teaching. This year’s dinner was held on Sept. 23 at the New York Athletic Club in Manhattan. In attendance were nearly 100 alumni, administrators, staff, faculty, and friends of Fordham. 

President Tetlow: ‘We Are So Proud to Be Part of a Global Church’

From a podium at the front of the President’s Room, Tetlow warmly welcomed Cardinal Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, who was in town to address world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly. 

“This week, you chose to use your voice to talk about the power of education, and particularly the Catholic model of education. So you will not be surprised that the people in this room agree with you on that subject,” she said, to chuckles from the audience.

Fordham is a place that not only teaches the fundamental principles of the Catholic faith, but also puts its teachings into action, said Tetlow. In an increasingly secular world, it has become more difficult to draw students back to the Catholic faith, she said. But Fordham continues to rebuild trust with the church and its mission—and does not lose sight of what it means to be one of the premier Catholic universities in the world. 

“We are so proud to be part of a global church, to have the privilege and responsibility of operating on a world stage with responsibilities far beyond our borders,” Tetlow said. 

Cardinal Parolin, a Longtime Friend of Fordham

In return, Cardinal Parolin expressed his gratitude to Fordham, particularly to the students in the Graduate Program in International Political Economy and Development who have supported the work of the Holy See through internships under the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia. 

Cardinal Parolin is a longtime friend of Fordham. In 2014, he participated in his first Pro Pontifice Dinner. In 2019, he visited the Lincoln Center campus, where he learned about Fordham’s Pope Francis Global Poverty Index. Most recently, Cardinal Parolin and President Tetlow met in person for the first time during a summer pilgrimage to Rome, where the cardinal initiated a partnership between Fordham and Villa Nazareth, a Vatican-affiliated residential college in Rome that provides free education to talented students. 

A Message from the Vatican: The Dangers of the Digital Space

In his dinner address, the cardinal offered a message about smartphones: devices that have not only revolutionized the ways that we interact with the world, but also created an unhealthy dependency, he said.  

“Being constantly online leaves human beings in a perpetual state of agitation, clicking and swiping on a virtual journey to nowhere,” said Cardinal Parolin. “Paradoxically, being too connected leads to social isolation, which in turn can cause a range of spiritual and mental challenges, including depression.” 

Being separated from your phone can actually be liberating, he said. 

“Cardinal Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, was telling me that students who enter the propaedeutic year of his archdiocesan seminary are obliged to forgo the use of a smartphone for a period of one year,” Cardinal Parolin recalled. “At the outset, the seminarians are traumatized, wondering how they will survive for so long without this vital tool. At the end of the year, however, they are all most grateful for the experience of liberation, recognizing that it was not they who had been using the smartphones, but rather, vice versa—the smartphones had been using them.” 

Pope Francis himself has spoken on this issue multiple times, said the cardinal. The best solution is to balance the costs and benefits of smartphone use, he said. 

“In brief, we need to ensure that our engagement with digital technology takes place in an informed, wise, and balanced manner, cognizant of both the benefits of connectivity, and the dangers its disordered use poses,” the cardinal concluded.

Throughout the dinner, guests mingled over a three-course meal—boneless short rib, bleu cheese salad, and red jacket apple tart—and listened to a suite of musical performances from several artists, including the New Bel Canto Trio. At the end of the evening, President of CAPP-USA Frederick Fakharzadeh emphasized the significance of the Pro Pontifical Dinner. 

“As we bring this evening to a close, I would like to echo what has become a clear theme of this evening: a celebration of past gatherings and a celebration of tonight’s return to such events … in which we salute the strong ties between the Holy See and the Catholic community, locally and globally,” said Fakharzadeh. “The mission of promoting Catholic social teaching takes a community—global, national, and international—and tonight, we come together from all over the world to honor this sacred charge.” 

The event was sponsored by Fordham’s Department of International Political Economy and Development (IPED) and the Centisemus Annus pro Pontifice Foundation (CAAP), and gave IPED students the opportunity to present to his eminence the results of their research compiled in the 2019 Fordham University Pope Francis Global Poverty Index, which globally measures poverty and well-being.

The evening also honored Archbishop Bernardito Auza, permanent observer of the Holy See Mission to the UN, who has been a steadfast supporter of IPED and mentor to dozens of Fordham students. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, celebrated the archbishop by surprising him with one of the University’s highest honors, the President’s Medal.

In a citation read by Michael McCarthy, S.J., vice president for mission integration and planning, the University praised Archbishop Auza for his work as well as his ability to “leaven discussions of grim issues with amusing stories and self-deprecating wit” while “continuing to bring hope and light into many dark places” through his humanitarian efforts.

While the evening was peppered with insider humor about Jesuit and church history, the evening’s true purpose was enunciated by Cardinal Parolin in his remarks. He recalled a recent papal visit to Mozambique, Madagascar, and Mauritius, where the Pope’s entourage encountered great beauty alongside extreme poverty and emotional wounds left behind by decades of regional conflict.

“Looking at the Pope Francis Global Poverty Index, I am reminded that so many of our brothers and sisters in those countries, especially in Mozambique and Madagascar, lack the minimum material and spiritual goods that Pope Francis mentioned in his address to the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015—those goods that would ‘enable’ them ‘to escape from extreme poverty… allow them to be dignified agents of their own destiny’ and ‘live in dignity,’” he said, quoting the pope.

For that to happen, he said that Pope Francis prescribes an “absolute minimum” of lodging, labor, and land as well as spiritual freedom, which includes religious freedom, the right to education, and civil rights.

Cardinal Parolin brushed aside critics who have said the pope and the Catholic Church are obsessed with the poor, because it defines who they are.

“Taking care of the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and the imprisoned is the yardstick that our Lord Jesus will use to measure how much we shall have lived the greatest commandment of love,” he said. “In brief, we care, because Jesus cares.”

He noted that the Poverty Index includes education as an indicator of spiritual well-being among the poor, which he said is not surprising coming from an institution like Fordham. He said that the University is part of long tradition of the church that places education at the heart of its mission in the world. To underscore centuries of involvement in academia, he said, Pope Francis recently launched the Global Educational Alliance, which convenes next May at the Vatican. The alliance is set to combat division and antagonism in an era of change that disregards traditional paradigms

“We are rightly proud that over the course of our 2,000-year history, the Catholic Church has played a major role in education,” he said. “I am confident that Fordham, remaining faithful to its vocation and mission to give the best integral education possible, is … producing learned men and women of both the highest intellectual caliber and the most compassionate of hearts for all, especially for the poor and the suffering.”