The "Idea" of the University

In class on thursday we discussed the writings by Cardinal Newman on his ideas and hopes for a catholic university that could finally provide a solid and well rounded education, but the catch is that this education was only provided to catholic male making it not as well rounded as he thought. His aspiration was to provide a good education to these catholic students that had been so underprivileged and discriminated against while he himself was guilty of discriminating against all others. I found this to be an very interesting and almost shocking point in which his view of rising above the discrimination of his faith is to build a large institution to which he could return the favor towards all those responsible. I find this shocking because going to a Catholic high school and learning the faith, we were told to in a sense "turn the other cheek", not return the favor. I find it confusing that someone as high in his faith as a Cardinal of the Catholic church would have such an intention as to exclude others from his institution to provide a good education to these Catholic students. What is most ironic is that his idea of such an institution would be harmful to these students in such that they would not be able to experience the world and its knowledge for what it is, they would experience it from what Cardinal John Henry Newman believed it was.