The Philosophy Program for Catholic Universities and Seminaries: Sapientia Christiana

I just came across the section on philosophy below from Pope Saint John Paul II in 1979, referenced here by Pope Benedict XVI in his Nov., 19, 2009 Address to the Pontifical Universities of Rome:

"After thirty years the fundamental lines of the apostolic constitution Sapientia Christiana retain all their timeliness...From its very first words the apostolic constitution...points out the urgent, ever timely need to bridge the gap between faith and culture. It calls for a greater commitment to evangelization in the firm conviction that Christian revelation is a transforming force, destined to permeate mindsets, standards of judgment, and behavioral norms. It is able to illuminate, purify, and renew people's morals and culture, and must constitute the focal point of teaching and research, as well as the horizon that illumines the nature and objective of every ecclesiastical faculty..."

Section III  Faculty of Philosophy

Article 79. n. 1. An Ecclesiastical Faculty of Philosophy has the aim of investigating philosophical problems according to scientific methodology, basing itself on a heritage of perennially valid philosophy.(24) It has to search for solutions in the light of natural reason and, furthermore, it has to demonstrate their consistency with the Christian view of the world, of man, and of God, placing in a proper light the relationship between philosophy and theology.

n. 2. Then, the students are to be instructed so as to make them ready to teach and to fill other suitable intellectual posts as well as to prepare them to promote Christian culture and to undertake a fruitful dialogue with the people of our time.

Article 80. In the teaching of philosophy, the relevant norms should be observed which are contained in the documents of the Second Vatican Council(25) and in other recent documents of the Holy See concerning academic studies.(26)

Article 81. The curriculum of studies of a Faculty of Philosophy comprises:

a) the first cycle, basics, in which for two years or four semesters an organic exposition of the various parts of philosophy is imparted, which includes treating the world, man, and God. It also includes the history of philosophy, together with an introduction into the method of scientific research;

b) the second cycle, the beginning of specialization, in which for two years or four semesters through special disciplines and seminars a more profound consideration is imparted in some sector of philosophy;

c) the third cycle, in which for a suitable period of time philosophical maturity is promoted, especially by means of writing a doctoral dissertation.

Article 82. The first cycle ends with the degree of Baccalaureate, the second with the specialized Licentiate, and the third with the Doctorate.

Article 83. To enroll in a Faculty of Philosophy, the student must have done the previous studies called for in accordance with Article 32 of the Constitution.