By Eric Martin
The scholastics of Church history and Francesca McGinnity have one thing in common: they all benefited from studying ‘the classics’, the rich plethora of Graeco-Roman language and culture that formed the historic Western tradition of education.
The Perth student recently graduated from Campion College Australia, an Catholic lay association which opened its doors in February 2006, but it owes its origins to a new connection with the centuries-old Catholic tradition of the Liberal Arts.
As the College is located on a 10-acre property in Toongabbie, Western Sydney (30km west of Sydney’s CBD), choosing to study there was a significant step to take for any young person and for Francesca, that decision was based on the opportunity to study philosophy in an environment where her faith played an important role in the learning process.
“We actually had someone who had studied there come over for dinner one night and he told me about how much he loved it: that he was able to study philosophy, theology and literature,” Francesca said.
“And I think it was the idea of studying philosophy at a higher education level that initially sparked my interest in Campion.
“The idea of learning what it means to truly think for oneself, though being exposed to, and contemplating on the thoughts of other people, especially those who have shaped our culture, was so attractive. When I arrived at Campion, I realised that there was so much to learn of our Western tradition, not simply through a philosophical lense, but through an integrated study of history, literature, and theology’.” she explained.
“What is unique about Campion, is that it allows one to engage with the ideas that have shaped Western Culture in an environment which encourages a truth-seeking attitude.
“So, it’s not just a relativistic study of significant ideas without the concept of there being ‘one truth.’ We learnt that it is reasonable to conclude there is such a thing as objective truth, and in light of that, we are encouraged to seek truth. This pursuit of truth set us on the same track as the great thinkers of our past. With thinkers including Aristotle, Aquinas, and Hobbes, we sought answers to the question “What is man?”. With other thinkers, such as Plato, Hegel, and Locke, we contemplated the most effective form of government.” Francesca said.
“What I enjoyed about Campion was learning more about the rich intellectual history of my Faith. This means that one can ask those questions: the why of things and the how of things. And find answers that are really satisfying – there is a rational basis for why we believe what we believe.
“About 60 of us lived on Campus, and the rest were on campus regularly for classes, which was quite special, because it allowed us to form close relationships with everyone there: living together helped our friendships to grow naturally, but it was really the commonality of our studies, a shared ‘truth-seeking’ attitude, and the opportunity to grow in learning and faith alongside one another which really bonded us all” she explained.
“Having the small classes with people whom, most of the time, you were friends with, provided a comfortable environment wherein you felt free to challenge ideas and to argue and debate against other students.
“It was really an environment conducive for discussion which led to further learning.”
This year, Francesca will embark on her Masters of Theology at Notre Dame University in Sydney.
Campion College Australia was started in 1973 in response to the cultural and religious turmoil of the late 20th century and the secularist incursion of Western society.
According to the Founding Statements of The Campion Book (2014) a vacuum had arisen in universities from the disappearance of Christian humanism, which was being replaced by a dual approach that intensified the collapse of a common culture of learning: in teaching there was a utilitarian emphasis on vocational training and in research, as well as in teaching, an ever-growing subject specialisation.
The disappearance of these cultural influences would expose Catholics in the West to the full force of secularist modernity without the educational and cultural support provided by the heritage of the classics.
As such, in the long tradition of Catholic universities, Campion seeks to offer a liberal education, characterised by academic rigour and quality and faithful to the mind of Christ as expressed authoritatively by the Catholic Church: fostering students’ intellectual maturity by a synthesis of natural reason and faith.
The College hopes to offer, not a better version of the higher education programs available in Australia, but rather a different model of education – philosophically, religiously and culturally – which can progressively influence the education and culture of the society.