VATICAN - “The real task of theology is to enter into the Word of God, to seek to understand it and to make it understood in our world, and thus to find the answer to our great questions,” the Pope addresses the International Theological Commission

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – At the close of the annual Plenary Assembly held by the International Theological Commission, which this year coincides with the close of their seventh five-year mandate, the Holy Father Benedict XVI expressed his gratitude to all its members, whom he received in an audience on December 5.
Mentioning the concrete fruits of this last five-year term, the Holy Father made reference to the publication of the document entitled, “The Hope of Salvation for Infants who Die Without Being Baptized,” and the upcoming publication of another document entitled “In Search of a Universal Ethic: New Look on Natural Law.” “As I have already affirmed on previous occasions, I would like to menion the urgent need in the current situation of culture and of civil and political society, to create the conditions necessary to raise awareness of the indispensable value of natural moral law...Natural law is the authentic guarantee everyone has to live free and respected in their dignity as human beings, and to feel they are defended from any form of ideological manipulation and all abuses perpetrated on the basis of the law of the strongest.” From the moment in which the present world “the metaphysical concept of the natural law is almost completely absent and unintelligible,” and being of fundamental importance for our society and for human life in general, “it needs to be once again presented and made understandable within the context of our thought. Thus, the fact that being in itself carries a moral message and an indication for the path of righteousness.”
Thus, the Pope spoke of a third subject studied by the Commission in this five-year term: “Meaning and Method of Theology,” highlighting the relevance and the pertinence it has for us today. Today, in fact, the public expects theologians to “promote dialogue among religions and cultures and to contribute to the development of an ethic that is based upon peace, justice, the defense of the natural environment,” which are fundamental goods, however, “a theology that limits itself only to these noble objectives would not only lose its own identity, but the very foundation of these goods,” the Pope said. “The first priority of theology, as is indicated by its name, is to speak of God, think of God. And theology speaks of God not simply as a hypothesis of our thought. It speaks of God, because God Himself has spoken to us. The real task of theology is to enter into the Word of God, to seek to understand it and to make it understood in our world, and thus to find the answer to our great questions. In this task, we see that not only is faith not contrary to reason, but it opens the eyes of reason, broadening our horizons and allows us to find the necessary responses to the challenges of the various time periods.”
The Holy Father Benedict XVI later reflected on this thought, mentioning how “from an objective point of view, the truth is the Revelation of God in Christ Jesus, which calls for a response of obedience to the faith, in communion with the Church and her Magisterium...from a subjective point of view, that is to say, from the point of view of the person who 'does' theology, the fundamental virtue of theologians is that of seeking obedience to the faith, the humility of the faith that opens our eyes – this humility that makes them collaborators of truth...obedience to truth does not mean giving up research or the effort of thought. Restiveness of thought, which in the life of believers can certainly never be fully placated because they too are searching for and studying the Truth, will nonetheless be a restiveness that accompanies and stimulates them on their pilgrimage of thought towards God, and in this way it will bear fruit.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 9/12/2008)