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The Word of God as Center
As the inspired Word of God, Scripture,
as the Church receives it, stands at the center of the curriculum.
All other courses are ordered to unfolding its meaning.
Ad Fontes, East and West
The Curriculum has its point of departure
in the primary sources written by the great masters of the theological
tradition, from the Fathers of the Church to the present age.
It draws on the theological tradition of the East as well as
of the West, seeking in this way to “breathe with both
lungs of the Church.” The Greek Fathers and St. Thomas
Aquinas are particularly important points of reference.
Pedagogy
Teachers and students actively collaborate in pursuing
the understanding of the Church’s faith through the reading
and guided discussion of the masters. Care is taken that students
truly prepare the texts and that sufficient room is given to
student participation to develop the virtues of active and responsible
reading and thinking.
Theology in its Unity
Foregoing premature specialization,
the Curriculum seeks to unfold theology out of its inner unity,
in conformity with its essence as a scientific reflection
of the faith of the Church. The Curriculum is ordered around
the central mysteries of the faith: the Trinity, the Incarnation,
grace, justification, the Church, etc. All particular questions
are addressed in the light of these central mysteries.
Theological Rationale
The rationale of studies at ITI is theological
throughout. Both the sequence of semesters and the composition
of courses in each semester are shaped in accord with the
above mentioned unity to allow for a systematic building up of
the parts of theology. When questions usually classified with
other fields (philosophy, psychology, sociology) are discussed,
they are discussed for the sake of theology and in an order required
by theology.
Primacy of the Theological Question
Historical-critical investigations are a necessary aspect of the study of sources.
Such investigations, however, find their inner completion only
in the properly theological question, "What is the truth
of the matter?”
Above All, Charity
Theology stands under the rule of the new
commandment and exists for the sake of union with the One whose
love for us we come more deeply to understand. It is therefore
studied and taught at the heart of his Church.
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