NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      VATICAN CITY (CWNews.com) - Pope John Paul II in July granted the title of "university" to the Pontifical Atheneum of the Holy Cross, making it the sixth pontifical university in the city of Rome, the Opus Dei order reported this week.

      The Pontifical University of the Holy Cross includes schools of theology, canon law, and philosophy as well as Apollinare Institute of Religious Science. The students include priests and laity, men and women, religious and diocesan candidates for the priesthood. In the 1997-1998 academic year there were 1,326 students enrolled from 65 countries around the world.

      The university is run by the Personal Prelature of Opus Dei, and its chancellor is Bishop Javier Echevarria, the Prelate of Opus Dei. The bishop has said the university is the fulfillment of the vision of the order's founder, Blessed Josemaria Escriva. The seat of the university is in the Apollinare Palace and the library is on the Via San Girolamo della Carita.