Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Madaba (Agenzia Fides) – After the visit to Mount Nebo, on Saturday May 9, the Holy Father Benedict XVI traveled to Madaba, where he blessed the cornerstone of the University of the Latin Patriarchate. In his address, the Pope mentioned how the Kingdom of Jordan has “rightly given priority to the task of extending and improving education,” and expressed his satisfaction at “the efforts of so many people of good will committed to education,” mentioning “with satisfaction the competent and expert participation of Christian institutions, especially Catholic and Orthodox, in this overall effort.”
“I commend the promoters of this new institution for their courageous confidence in good education as a stepping-stone for personal development and for peace and progress in the region. In this context the University of Madaba will surely keep in mind three important objectives. By developing the talents and noble attitudes of successive generations of students, it will prepare them to serve the wider community and raise its living standards. By transmitting knowledge and instilling in students a love of truth, it will greatly enhance their adherence to sound values and their personal freedom. Finally, this same intellectual formation will sharpen their critical skills, dispel ignorance and prejudice, and assist in breaking the spell cast by ideologies old and new. The result of this process will be a university that is not only a platform for consolidating adherence to truth and to the values of a given culture, but a place of understanding and dialogue.”
In his address, the Holy Father mentioned that “belief in God does not suppress the search for truth; on the contrary it encourages it.” “Religion, of course, like science and technology, philosophy and all expressions of our search for truth, can be corrupted. Religion is disfigured when pressed into the service of ignorance or prejudice, contempt, violence and abuse. In this case we see not only a perversion of religion but also a corruption of human freedom, a narrowing and blindness of the mind. Clearly, such an outcome is not inevitable. Indeed, when we promote education, we proclaim our confidence in the gift of freedom.” Commenting on the motto of the University: “Sapientia et Scientia,” the Pope affirmed: “ Science and technology offer extraordinary benefits to society and have greatly improved the quality of life of many human beings...At the same time the sciences have their limitations. They cannot answer all the questions about man and his existence...The use of scientific knowledge needs the guiding light of ethical wisdom...Hence religious and ethical wisdom, by answering questions of meaning and value, play a central role in professional formation. And consequently, those universities where the quest for truth goes hand in hand with the search for what is good and noble, offer an indispensable service to society.”
At the close of his address, the Holy Father encouraged the Christian students of Jordan and the neighboring regions “to dedicate themselves responsibly to a proper professional and moral formation” and congratulated the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and all who have taken this project to heart, assuring them of his prayer, that there may soon be “generations of qualified men and women Christian, Muslim and of other religions, taking their place in society, equipped with professional skills, knowledgeable in their field, and educated in the values of wisdom, integrity, tolerance and peace.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 12/5/2009)
