Vatican sanctions defiant university

THE VATICAN HAS ORDERED the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PCUP) to remove the words "pontifical" and "Catholic" from its name, after university leaders and students refused to accept the Vatican constitution "Ex Corde Ecclesiae", a statue that obligates the school to submit to Church clergy and its institutions in all the world.

The problem is that, while the PCUP does consider itself to be Catholic, it does not necessarily see itself as an institution that is dependent on the Vatican.

University leaders accuse the Archbishop of Lima and Cardinal Primate of Peru, Juan Luis Cipriani, of having designs on taking control of the university and its assets, calculated at nearly $300 million (US).

Cipriani affirms that the PCUP must submit itself to the Pope and to the local Catholic authorities, backed by the Peruvian Bishops Conference.

"These are economic and power interests, not spiritual ones," claimed Marcial Rubio, current rector of the educational institution, openly confronting the Vatican directives.

In light of this situation, the National Rectors Assembly, which regulates all university activity in Peru, has backed the current leaders of PCUP and has indicated that its support is mandated by Peru's Constitution and laws. As such, the Assembly will continue to recognize the university's name as currently written.

Natale Amprimo, legal counsel for the Archbishop of Lima, responded saying that the PCUP "belongs to the Catholic Church."

The confrontation has dominated news headlines across the country, and the public is closely following the story as it develops.

Will the Vatican turn to international tribunes like The Hague to enforce the Pope's orders? Will it be necessary to use force to remove the current university leaders, as Church officials have threatened? Will the government of Ollanta Humala honor its treaty with the Vatican, known as the Concordat, which brings the laws of Peru under its domain?

For now, the Church's media entities are referring to the university as the "ex-Pontifical Catholic University of Peru".

This story has really only just begun.