Wednesday, February 16, 2000
Cathedrals, universities called forces in cities
BY ANDREA TORTORA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS — Cathedrals and universities should push young people to explore the deeper questions of life and spirituality, a Los Angeles pastor told top administrators of two Northern Kentucky colleges.
Monsignor Kevin Kostelnik, pastor of Los Angeles' under-construction Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels, sat on a panel Tuesday with higher-education officials to discuss the role of universities, and education in general, in tackling urban problems.
“Cathedrals and universities connected together are great motivators in a way that personal computers and video games are not,” Monsignor Kostelnik said.
He was in Northern Kentucky as part of the fifth ecumenical lecture series at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington, sponsored by the Cathedral Foundation, Northern Kentucky University and Thomas More College.
Monsignor Kostelnik spoke Monday about the $163 million Los Angeles Cathedral and “bringing God back down town.”
His descriptions of plans for educational, community and spiritual events and programs in the heart of Los Angeles were inspiring, said Ray Hebert, Thomas More's former vice president for academic affairs.
“We have to collaborate in as many ways as possible to help the urban core,” Mr. He bert said. He cited the Urban Learning Center, a cooperative project that offers free college courses to low-income residents in Covington, as an example of what needs to be done.
Rogers Redding, NKU provost, said the university is putting more focus on connecting with the communities it serves.
That means offering classes closer to people who need them, and creating innovative ways to bring people to the main campus. The $38 million science center, for example, will become a place for “science learners of all ages,” Mr. Redding said.
What the region must remember is that “we have become a community of lifelong learners,” said Dale Myers, Thomas More's vice president for academic affairs.
The Los Angeles Cathedral will serve a population that speaks 42 languages. Choir members will be required to speak two languages.
That embracing of multiculturalism and diversity is missing in Northern Kentucky, Mr. Hebert said. “We need to start grappling with issues we have been afraid to grapple with.”
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