In this article, Ong asserts that while the Catholic Church has always expressed interest in education and learning, the position of the Church on this topic needs to be re-examined in light of scientific discoveries confirming the evolution of humankind.  No longer can the Church look at learning as a way to simply preserve what is already known, Ong argues; instead, people working in all disciplines that conduct research must use learning as a way to make progress rather than just reaffirm established knowledge.  Catholics, in particular, should see themselves as apostolates in their fields (an idea Ong has already proposed in an earlier article, “An Apostolate of the Business World”).

More specifically, members of  the Catholic Hospital Association of the United States and Canada (for whom the original article was written) should take advantage of their fortunate positions in the biological and physical sciences.  Since these fields are especially valued in society, Catholics in these fields can–despite problems such as financing and the state of personnel–have a profound impact on the future of their fields and the presence of Catholic values in those fields.