“Arguing about abortion ought to be possible,” Sanford noted.
Politicization, Sanford warned, also jeopardizes the public’s trust in the objectivity of institutions and their academic research.
“There’s a growing perception that universities aren’t worth it anymore,” he said. “There seems to be a whole lot of politics going on. Does that mean there’s not much learning going on?”
During his remarks Sanford also gave voice to “deep concerns about cancel culture,” noting that the university setting needs to be one “where genuine debate can occur.”
He recalled that free and open debate helps foster patriotism as well. He pointed out that the Federalist Papers, which were the framework for the U.S. Constitution, were “arrived at through a lot of debate,” adding that one must learn, test, and then come to embrace the founding principles, at which point “your admiration and love for them ensues.”
However, Sanford noted that patriotism, from a Catholic perspective, does not always mean supporting the actions of one’s country. He cited St. Thomas More as the perfect example of a patriot. More was an adviser to King Henry VIII who was executed for refusing to support the king’s defiance of the Church in the establishment of the Anglican Church.