Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - In the morning of Saturday June 23 Pope Benedict XVI received in audience participants at the first European Meeting of University Lecturers on the theme "A New Humanism for Europe. The Role of the Universities" sponsored by the Council of European Bishops' Conferences and organised by teachers from the Roman universities, co-ordinated by the Vicariate of Rome’s Office for the Pastoral Care of Universities. The Meeting was to mark the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome which led to the present European Union (see Fides 19/6/2007). “Europe is presently experiencing a certain social instability and diffidence in the face of traditional values,- the Pope said in his address -, yet her distinguished history and her established academic institutions have much to contribute to shaping a future of hope. The "question of man", which is central to your discussions, is essential for a correct understanding of current cultural processes. It also provides a solid point of departure for the effort of universities to create a new cultural presence and activity in the service of a more united Europe”.
Referring to the present quest for a new humanism, the Pope recalled that “Historically, it was in Europe that humanism developed, thanks to the fruitful interplay between the various cultures of her peoples and the Christian faith. Europe today needs to preserve and remain faithful to her vocation as the cradle of humanism.
The present cultural shift is often seen as a "challenge" to the culture of the university and Christianity itself, rather than as a "horizon" against which creative solutions can and must be found. ”. The Holy Father then underlined the need for “ sustained reflection on a number of foundational issues”.
Pope Benedict XVI began by stressing the need for a comprehensive study of the crisis of modernity: “The anthropocentrism which characterises modernity can never be detached from an acknowledgement of the full truth about man, which includes his transcendent vocation”. A second issue involves the broadening of our understanding of rationality: “The concept of reason needs instead to be "broadened" in order to be able to explore and embrace those aspects of reality which go beyond the purely empirical. This will allow for a more fruitful, complementary approach to the relationship between faith and reason.”. A third issue concerns the nature of the contribution which Christianity can make to the humanism of the future: “The question of man, and thus of modernity, challenges the Church to devise effective ways of proclaiming to contemporary culture the "realism" of her faith in the saving work of Christ. Christianity must not be relegated to the world of myth and emotion, but respected for its claim to shed light on the truth about man, to be able to transform men and women spiritually, and thus to enable them to carry out their vocation in history”.
The Pope said “society has urgent need of the service to wisdom which the university community provides” and “University professors, in particular, are called to embody the virtue of intellectual charity, recovering their primordial vocation to train future generations not only by imparting knowledge but by the prophetic witness of their own lives. The university, for its part, must never lose sight of its particular calling to be an "universitas" in which the various disciplines, each in its own way, are seen as part of a greater unum.
… The effort to reconcile the drive to specialisation with the need to preserve the unity of knowledge can encourage the growth of European unity and help the continent to rediscover its specific cultural "vocation" in today’s world. Only a Europe conscious of its own cultural identity can make a specific contribution to other cultures, while remaining open to the contribution of other peoples.”
The Pope said he hoped “universities will increasingly become communities committed to the tireless pursuit of truth, "laboratories of culture" where teachers and students join in exploring issues of particular importance for society, employing interdisciplinary methods and counting on the collaboration of theologians. This can easily be done in Europe, given the presence of so many prestigious Catholic institutions and faculties of theology. I am convinced that greater cooperation and new forms of fellowship between the various academic communities will enable Catholic universities to bear witness to the historical fruitfulness of the encounter between faith and reason. “Dear friends, - the Pope concluded - may your deliberations during these days prove fruitful and help to build an active network of university instructors committed to bringing the light of the Gospel to contemporary culture. ”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 25/6/2007 - righe 56, parole 760)
