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Mission Statement

"Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth—in a word, to know himself—so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves."

Thus began Pope Saint John Paul II in his encyclical Fides et Ratio. The vision he puts forth - one of a sound synthesis of faith and reason united in their ascent to truth - is that described by Saint Anselm as Fides quaerens intellectum ('Faith seeking understanding'). And it is this vision which guides the work of the Veritas Society, the very name of which is Latin for 'truth'.

Yet it need hardly be noted that the kind of sound synthesis alluded to by Saints John Paul and Anselm is something sorely lacking in today's world. Indeed, it is clear that there exists an urgent and widespread need for a new generation of Catholics who are ready not only to live out the Gospel, but also to properly articulate the truths it contains. In order to achieve this, however, robust intellectual formation is essential.

The Veritas Society has adopted the following as its task and mission:

"To lead student efforts to promote Christ-centered intellectual culture on campus, and to thereby foster among students a reasonable and radical faith."

This is the core statement of purpose against which all of the Society's activities are to be judged. In implementing its mission, the Society is to focus on four distinct but complementary areas:

(1) Debate: fostering intelligent discussion on campus, training students in skills of rhetoric, argumentation, and critical thinking.
(2) Apologetics: forming students to understand and appreciate a Catholic worldview, and to then be able to explicate and defend it.
(3) Community: promoting intellectual fellowship and academic community on campus, not only among students, but also between students and their professors.
(4) Discourse: inspiring students to live out the full radicality of the Gospel in a manner that is both intellectually rigorous and dynamically orthodox, and providing a platform for on-campus publications, major speakers, and public debates.

In fulfilling its mission, the work of the Veritas Society is to take place primarily within the community of the Franciscan University of Steubenville, wherein the Society is based. The Society will seek to fulfill its purpose and undertake its activities in a manner consistent with the mission of the University.

Above all, the Veritas Society will strive to ensure that everything it does is always directed to the greater glory of God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - whose reign has no end, and who is Truth.  

- Clement Harrold, Founder