Bulletin of Catholic University of Peking

CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF PEKING 19

“(2) The Benedictine Fathers will keep watch over the morals of the students who come from places outside Peking, so that, while enjoying the advantage of instruction in higher.studies (a thing which is not possible outside a great city), they may not be contaminated by the vices which are all too prevalent in metropolitan centers....

“Tt was in order ‘to obviate the evils... which threaten sound morality and the integrity of the faith’ in consequence of the spread of false doctrines, that the Holy See desired to see a Catholic university established at Peking. Hence we have always regarded the preservation of a Catholic atmosphere in our School as a matter of paramount importance. For this reason, with the exception of a few pagans especially recommended to us by Catholic Missionaries, we had hitherto made it a point to receive only Catholic students.

“On the other hand, we cannot afford to disregard the regulations laid down by the Ministry of Education. The city of Peking, as is well-known, has been overrun of recent years with a multitude of pseudo-universities founded by indigent teachers, or by jobless politicians. These mushroom universities, although their period of existence was very brief, brought, nevertheless, great opprobrium upon all higher education. Hence the Ministry of Education was forced in recent times to enact some drastic regulations with reference to the registration of private universities (that is, regarding their ‘equiparation’ to the National Universities). The practical effect of this legislation has been to render Recognition by the State (7.e. Equiparation to the National Universities) a sine gua non condition of the existence of any private university. Hence at the urgent solicitation of both the Catholic Missionaries and our own students, we have complied with all the legal formalities required for Registration.

“Among the various conditions of Registration, which are imposed by the Chinese government, there is one of especial importance, that, namely, which requires that our University be henceforth open to pagans and Christians alike, regardless of religious distinctions. On the other hand, owing to the fact that many universities in this city

have been forced through lack of funds to close their doors, our university, if thrown open to all indiscriminately, is threatened with a veritable inundation of non-Catholic students, which will reduce our Catholic student body to a minority. Hence, unless the Catholic clergy of China come to our aid in this crisis by sending us a large number of Catholic students, it is to be feared that it will not be possible to maintain that distinctively Catholic atmosphere which has hitherto been the glory of our institution and the safeguard of the faith and morals of our students.....

“In order to afford Catholic students a better opportunity of entering our University, we have secured-from the Ministry of Education...the privilege of receiving the graduates of Junior Middle Schools which have not as yet obtained government Recognition. For, notwithstanding the fact that a general regulation forbids a registered university to receive graduates of non-registered Middle Schools, nevertheless, by virtue of a special dispensation obtained from the Ministry of Education, our University has been exempted from this general law for the space of a year. As regards the future, however, we cannot urge too strongly upon the Rey. Directors of Catholic Middle Schools that they. -.have their institutions registered with the local educational authorities as soon as possible. By so doing they will greatly benefit their own schools and will simultaneously solve a troublesome problem which confronts the Catholic University with reference to the reception of students coming from Catholic Middle Schools.

“But it is time to terminate this already too protracted letter. In conclusion, therefore, we appeal to you, as Apostolic Missionaries, who have left all to spread the Gospel of Christ in China, to lend your help and good will to this, our effort towards higher things. For do we not all work for the same end: wt in omnibus glorificetur Deus —‘that God may be glorified in all things’?”

To meet the requirements of the Ministry of Education, the Faculty of Arts was reorganized as follows: