Aquino hails Pontifical University of Santo Tomas

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III praised the role of the Pontifical University of Santo Tomas (UST), in educating Filipinos during celebrations marking the 400th anniversary of Asia’s oldest university.

“UST not only educates students but also imparts principles, which is a noble mission of the institution,” Aquino told students and delegates attending the International Council of Universities of St. Thomas Aquinas (ICUSTA).

Pope Benedict XVI’s representative, Archbishop Zenon Cardinal Grocholewski, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education, was also attending the three-day celebration.

The ICUSTA meeting, called “The Role of Universities in Fostering Catholic Principles in Public Life,” attracted delegates from 50 countries.

The event was also the 10th biennial conference of the association of schools named after St. Thomas Aquinas since its inception in 1993 by the late educator Gerardo Rocha Vera of Chile.

During the conference, Father Guy Bedouelle, rector of Université Catholique de l’Ouest in France, told participants the search for knowledge in the realm of secular sciences still relies on religion.

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