In order to be decisive, we must first know what we want; then, we have to make a conscious decision. If we want to “live freedom decisively,” we first have to learn how to be free. Many of the suggestions in the Congress webpage give ideas of how to do precisely that.

What is UNIV?

UNIV is a meeting in Rome that brings together thousands of university students from all over the world. It began thanks to the initiative of Saint Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei.

In the last few centuries, nothing has been more valued than freedom.  At the same time, however, nothing has been more threatened. Together with an exaltation of personal liberty on the part of many, there have also appeared schools of thought which limit and even deny human freedom. Some thinkers thus understand personal decisions merely as side effects determined by one’s culture, by economic factors, or even by physical processes. Others, by contrast, affirm freedom but understand it as a completely undetermined capacity. Freedom thus comes to mean being entirely unbound and all forms of personal commitment or determination consequently become viewed as hindrances and limitations of one’s freedom.

The 2011 UNIV Forum wants to contribute to the ongoing contemporary reflection on freedom, commitment, and the value of personal convictions, while doing so from a perspective which is both profound and practical. The following are possible fields of enquiry:

- daily personal decisions: their necessity and relevance, especially in fields like medicine, business, public opinion, etc.;

- freedom’s dimensions: freedom from and freedom for, What role do personal convictions and the moral virtues play in making daily choices?;

- business ethics: responsible decision making, the value of loyalty;

- university education and the formation of convictions;

- freedom and history: big and small decisions that have changed history, concrete examples: the dedication of Petrarch or of Alexander Fleming; work and inspiration: their role in the great scientific, artistic, cultural and social revolutions;

- the youth and serious decisions: Can young people make important and lasting decisions?; concrete examples: George Washington, L. Braille, Thomas Edison, Alexander the Great, etc.;

- freedom and service: personal commitment and the “new narcissism.”

Main Ideas

• The Birth of Freedom. What is the historical origin of the concept of freedom?  Classical views of man and the cosmos.  The concept of freedom in Oriental cultures.  Is our fate fixed, or determined by our free choices?  The Christian understanding of man: rational, free, responsible, child of God.
• The Value of Making Decisions.  The responsibility of having one’s own convictions.  How to distinguish between important and negligible decisions.  Ways of understanding the relationship between freedom and truth: truth as liberation, freedom’s search for meaning, freedom as a creator of values.  Freedom’s dimensions: ‘freedom-for’—‘ freedom-from’, choice, intention, and self-gift.
• Freedom and commitment. Do commitments limit or positively channel one’s freedom?  Freedom and service: is serving others a way of developing one’s freedom?  The impact of commitment: free choices that have changed the course of history.  Great successes begin with small decisions—the importance of exercising freedom in everyday life.
• Freedom and Youth. Is it possible to make important and difficult decisions in one’s youth?  Outstanding historical examples: George Washington, Ludwig von Beethoven, Louis Braille, Alexander the Great, etc.
• Freedom and Time. Human freedom as a continued process of self-determination.  Freedom’s faithful ally: perseverance.  Having an end in mind—essential for writing novels and for the novel of life.  The importance of rectifying (while there’s still time).
• Interior Freedom. Living free commitments in the face of opposition.  Recent historical examples: Ernest Shackleton, Edith Stein, Viktor Frankl.
• Emotional Freedom. Freedom and self-dominion.  Freedom and personal toughness.  Christian freedom as freedom from sin.

The UNIV Forum has some very interesting articles. I will post here a brief summary of a few of the most recent posts (unfortunately, some of the most interesting are in Spanish!)

Culture and University Life

Friendship: The Key to the Evangelization of Men.

By John McCloskey

Our society must recovery the sens of friendship. Besides the joy of its existence, friendship reveals itself as a key to evangelization, from the early times of Christianism. The exemple of saints let us know the two senses of this essential way of human relationship.

The Ways of Denial

Karol Wojtyla

In 1976 the man who would become John Paul II analyzed contemporary culture’s tendency towards a general denial of God. In light of the Bible’s account of original sin, Cardinal Wojtyla warned that the desire for absolute freedom can turn against contemporary man even more drastically than at the beginning of human history.

John Paul II and the UNIV

In 1985, talking to UNIV Participants, John Paul II said: “It’s a great idea to have this annual international meeting of students from around the world and it’s good that you have the chance to get together in this way and to sing together. It’s a great joy. For me, it’s a great joy.”

Filosofía y Libertad (Philosophy and Freedom)

La filosofía ha sido entendida desde antiguo como la más libre de las artes liberales. Quien filosofa no reconoce más restricciones que las que derivan de su compromiso serio con la búsqueda de la verdad. From ancient times, philosophy has been known as the most free (liberal) of liberal arts. The philosopher does not recognise restrictions other than those that derive from his own firm commitment to the search for truth.

Laicidad y pluralismo (Laicism and pluralism)

La laicidad del Estado se invoca con frecuencia de manera ambigua e impropia y, a veces, hasta para enmascarar actitudes o recursos poco respetuosos hacia la sensibilidad religiosa de los ciudadanos. Sin embargo, la laicidad constituye un valor positivo, que no debería generar desconfianza o sospecha. Lo mismo cabe decir del pluralismo político, consecuencia inmediata de la libertad, que el Estado reconoce a todos los ciudadanos y la Iglesia católica a sus fieles. State laicism is frequently invoked in an ambiguous and improper sense and, even with the aim of hiding attitudes or means disrespectful towards the religious sensitivity of citizens. Still, laicism is a positive value, which should not cause mistrust or suspicion. The same might be said of political pluralism, an immediate consequence of freedom, which the State recognises for all its citizens and the Catholic Church for all its faithful.

When 4th of July comes, concepts that come to mind are freedom and independence.  In 1776 the U.S. colonies, “appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions” and relying “on the protection of Divine Providence” declared their right to be free and independent states.

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But what really is FREEDOM?  Are those nations that declare themselves true democracies truly free?  What about judicial systems and national laws that stifle true personal freedoms and go against such basic human rights as right to life and religious freedom?

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We found a prayer addressed to the ‘God of liberty’ (author unknown):

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University students have a wonderful opportunity to study and investigate this most important issue by joining UNIV 2011 work groups.  The 2011 Theme is “Living FREEDOM Decisively”.  Here’s a listing of suggested research paper topics.

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Social Initiatives Forum

Second Place: “Todos por Chile” (All for Chile)

The second prize of the Social Initiatives Forum of UNIV 2010 goes to the project “Todos por Chile”, an outreach program for the victims of the recent earthquake. |+| (242 Kb)

UNIVTube

UNIVTube First Prize: “Christian Politicians, seeking the common good”

In this presentation, the participants try to analyze what is and what should be the role of Christians in public life: and more precisely, in political life.

Winner for Technical Quality: “Despierta” (Wake Up)

The UNIVTube “Pigna” for best technical quality was awarded to the participants from Colegio Mayor Ayete (San Sebastián, Spain).

Winner for Creativity: “Do you know Pope Benedict XVI?”

The UNIVTube “Pigna” for Creativity was awarded to the participants from Colegio Mayor Mendaur (Pamplona, Spain).

2010/03/24
Link to UNIV Web Page

4000 students from over 200 universities around the world will spend Holy Week in Rome. For several months now they have been preparing for this year’s UNIV topic: “Can Christianity inspire a global culture?”

The students have been discussing in preparatory sessions whether our contemporary democratic society contains the religious roots needed to sustain a coherent culture and legal system.

This question was raised by Benedict XVI in an address given at La Sapienza University in Rome in 2008: “If our culture seeks only to build itself on the basis of the circle of its own argumentation, on what convinces it at the time, and if—anxious to preserve its secularism—it detaches itself from its life-giving roots, then it will not become more reasonable or purer, but will fall apart and disintegrate.”

The student groups come from thirty countries including the U.S., France, Spain, Russia, China (Hong Kong), and Australia. They bring with them varying and mutually-enriching perspectives on how Christianity can enliven a multicultural society.

UNIV 2010 seeks to contribute to the discussion of how the Christian conception of the human person and society can help build up an authentic global culture.

Speakers from the academic world who will take part include Joseph Pearce, a well-known author who teaches literature at Ave Maria University in Florida; Andrew Hegarty, director of the Thomas More Institute in London; and Jeffrey J. Langan, professor of humanistic studies at Holy Cross College in Indiana.

Joseph Pearce.

This year’s UNIV conference is the 43rd annual meeting since St. Josemaría Escrivá encouraged university professors and students in 1967 to come to Rome to reflect, close to the Holy Father, on ways Christian values can help sustain a truly human world culture.

Related links
Official UNIV Web Page

From Beirut, Lebanon:

Interview with Muslims: “What can you learn from Christians?”

From the ‘Colegio Mayor’ Mendaur, Spain:

“How well do you know Pope Benedict XVI?”

You can find a testimony on UNIV here.  Also, you may join “UNIV Forum” group in Facebook here.