Heythrop College, part of the University of London, has traditionally been a centre of intellectual excellence whose demise would be a heavy blow both to the Catholic Church and to English academic life. Largely as a result of falling student enrolments, it has become such a drain on its principal financial supporter, the Society of Jesus, that its very viability is in question. The raising of undergraduate tuition fees across the higher-education sector has forced students and universities to concentrate on courses with a significant vocational element. This has pushed learning for its own sake, never a very profitable business, to the bottom of the list. Heythrop’s expertise lies in theology and philosophy, central to any civilisation worthy of the name but sadly not much sought a