Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “Your commitment to serve the truth that God has revealed shares in the evangelizing mission of the Church: It is an ecclesial service... It is important for everyone, professors and students, never to lose sight of the end pursued -- to be an instrument of the evangelical proclamation.” These were the recommendations given by the Holy Father Benedict XVI to teachers and students of the Roman Pontifical Universities and participants in the 23rd General Assembly of the International Federation of Catholic Universities, received in audience on the morning of November 19.
Recalling the two “significant anniversaries” - the 30th of the apostolic constitution "Sapientia Christiana," and the 60th anniversary of the recognition by the Holy See of the Statute of the Federation Internationale des Universites Catholiques (FIUC) – the Pope reflected on the “indispensable role of ecclesiastical faculties and Catholic universities in the Church and in society.” He said: “The Second Vatican Council underlined it clearly in the declaration 'Gravissimum Educationis' when it exhorted ecclesiastical faculties to deepen their knowledge in the various sectors of the sacred sciences, to have an ever more profound knowledge of revelation, to explore the treasure of Christian wisdom, foster ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, and respond to the problems that are arising in the cultural realm.” Today, there are over 1,300 Catholic universities and nearly 400 ecclesiastical faculties, spread over the five continents, many of which have arisen in the last decades.
“The apostolic constitution 'Sapientia Christiana,' from its first expressions, shows the urgency, still present, to overcome the existing breach between faith and culture, inviting to a greater commitment of evangelization, in the firm conviction that Christian revelation is a transforming force, destined to permeate ways of thinking, criteria of judgment, and norms of behavior. It is able to illumine, purify and renew the customs of men and their cultures,” the Pope said. The Holy Father also highlighted the need for the cultivators of the sacred disciplines to have contact with “the other fields of learning for a fruitful dialogue, above all for the purpose of offering a precious contribution to the mission that the Church is called to carry out in the world... Man, in fact, is incapable of understanding himself fully and the world without Jesus Christ: Only he illumines his true dignity, his vocation, his ultimate destiny and opens the heart to a solid and lasting hope.”
In his address, the Pope highlighted that “the study of the sacred sciences must never be separated from prayer, from union with God, from contemplation, otherwise reflections on divine mysteries run the risk of becoming a vain intellectual exercise,” and he concluded be recalling that “the service you carry out is valuable for the mission of the Church.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 20/11/2009)
