Neumann
College bestows honorary degree on Bishop McFadden
By Lou Baldwin
Special to The CS&T
ASTON — Auxiliary Bishop Joseph P. McFadden visited Neumann College
on March 12 to receive an honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, and
to deliver the college’s annual Dorothy A.P. Leunissen Presidential
Lecture, which is named for the late, distinguished area physician and
supporter of the school.
In the degree citation, which was read by College President Rosalie M.
Mirenda, Bishop McFadden was lauded for “his passion and commitment
to education and for his continued service to the Church.”
The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, the founding congregation
of the college, were also honored at the convocation.
During the course of the Leunissen lecture, Bishop McFadden spoke of another
well-known physician, the late Dr. Joseph Gambescia, who was the personal
physician to Cardinal John Krol at the time when then-Father McFadden
was the Cardinal’s secretary.
He recalled one conversation when Gambescia asked him what he thought
was the most aggressive thing a doctor could do in practicing medicine.
“I answered, ‘[That would be] to try some experimental procedure,’”
he said.
But Gambescia replied no, the most aggressive thing a doctor could do
in treating a patient was to do nothing — because when a doctor
acts too quickly, he winds up treating the symptoms, not the illness.
According to Bishop McFadden, Gambescia went on to talk about the fact
that science is really involved in discovering the beauty of God’s
creation and how it all works. Further, the physician told him, it observes
the human being — the highest of God’s creations — discovering
how everything works and then, through medicine, assisting the body in
accomplishing the work it is intended to do.
Bishop McFadden said there are parallels in higher education.
Technological and scientific advancements have given humankind a feeling
of self-sufficiency, along with “self-absorption, whereby man [thinks
he] can exist just fine without any need to talk about God or the Creator,”
the Bishop said.
Addressing the issue of academic freedom, Bishop McFadden said: “When
we speak of academic freedom we really mean the search for truth. I assume
that academic freedom is allowing one to pursue the search for truth.
In a Catholic institution, we welcome this type of academic freedom because
Jesus has already revealed to us, truth. Jesus clearly states ‘I
am the way, the light and the truth.’
“If we believe academic freedom is truly operative in the university
setting,” he added, “it will eventually come to know the truth
that we espouse in Jesus Christ.”
Bishop McFadden spoke of a desperate need for the focus a Catholic college
can bring to contemporary culture, and the responsibility to communicate
to society the ethical and religious principles that give full meaning
to human life.
“I believe Neumann College is committed to all of these ideals and
I am honored to wear its academic colors,” he said in closing.
After the lecture, which took place in the college’s Life Center,
the center, itself, was renamed the Thomas A. Bruder Jr. Life Center in
honor of college benefactor Thomas Bruder, who was present for the ceremony.
Lou Baldwin is a member of St. Leo Parish and a freelance writer.