THE UNIVERSITY must remain committed to fulfilling its mission despite public scrutiny, Filipino Dominican provincial Fr. Filemon de la Cruz Jr., O.P. said.
In his homily during the Mass for the solemn installation of UST Rector Fr. Richard Ang, O.P., De la Cruz pointed to how the University and its values and ideals are always under public scrutiny, which exposes it to criticism.
“An institution like the University, for the values and ideals that our University stands for, we will always have people watching us in our society,” De la Cruz, also the UST vice chancellor, said in the Sept. 9 Mass. “Any appearance of a failure, an oversight, a shortcoming, it will always hit the media. It will always be news. UST is always news.”
To deal with these pressures, he urged UST to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, whom he said had persistently “manned up to the situation” despite persecution from critics.
“We have been through this […] and the sad thing is, for one shortcoming, the world seems to forget what you have contributed, the many good things,” he said. “It may be comforting to know that even for the Lord, with all the things He has done, He always had people to put him down, waiting to pounce on Him.”
As UST embarks on another four years with Ang as its Rector, De la Cruz called on the University to remember that its mission is its reason for being.
“If you pay so much attention [to] all the people watching you and what they are to say, it will cause you to detract from your mission, and eventually, it will be a failure,” he said.
“The mission should not always be separated from the soul, the spirituality of this Catholic institution,” he added. “If there’s something that has sustained the University, it’s always been its mission.”
This year, UST was embroiled in two major controversies — the Office for Student Affairs’ censorship of TomasinoWeb and recently, the backlash against its implementation of Manila’s health certificate mandate.
The health certificate issue even prompted Ang to address the concerns briefly in his acceptance speech, saying UST “cannot fight” the city government and instead must support the ordinance.
De la Cruz prayed for more strength and focus for Ang and UST.
“We pray for him (Ang) as a person that he will not be detracted by people, comments, or whatsoever,” he added. “Not only him but also the institution that he leads…may the Lord strengthen us and never allow us to lose sight of the reason why we are here — our mission.”
Ang was installed to his second term as UST Rector on Sept. 9, a tenure that will extend until 2028. The Rector recited his profession of faith and oath of fidelity before De la Cruz, the top Dominican in the Philippines. with reports from Ella Mae A. Sison
