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Rome, 3rd November 2006 (CNA) - Pope Benedict
XVI spoke this morning at the Pontifical Gregorian University, which was
founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola and is considered the mother of the Jesuit
order’s extensive system of universities. The Holy Father reminded
students, faculty, and benefactors of the university that the fundamental
questions of mankind cannot be answered without God.
Upon arriving at the university, which stands
near Rome’s Trevi Fountain, Pope Benedict went immediately to the school’s
chapel. The Holy Father spent some time in prayer before moving to the
university’s central courtyard and greeting the waiting crowd.
The Pope reminded professors and students that
"the effort of study and teaching, in order to be meaningful with regard to
the Kingdom of God, must be supported by the theological virtues. The
immediate objective of theological science, in its various aspects, is God
Who revealed Himself in Jesus Christ, God with a human face."
"Today," he continued, "we cannot fail to take account of the confrontation
with secular culture, which in many parts of the world tends ... not only to
deny all signs of God's presence in the life of society and of individuals,
but, with various means that disorient and confuse man's correct
understanding, seeks to undermine his capacity to listen to God.”
Other human sciences such as psychology, social science and communications,
"precisely because they concern human beings, cannot omit a reference to
God. Indeed, man, both in his interior and exterior aspects, cannot be fully
understood if he is not recognized as being open to transcendence."
"Deprived of his reference to God, man cannot respond to the fundamental
questions that disturb, and always will disturb, his heart; questions that
concern the aim and, hence, the meaning of existence,” the Pope said. “Man's
destiny, without reference to God, cannot but be the desolation of anguish
that leads to desperation. Only with reference to God-Love, revealed in
Jesus Christ, can man discover the meaning of his life, and live in hope,
even while experiencing the evils that injure his personal life and the
society in which he lives. Hope ensures that man does not close himself in a
stagnant and sterile nihilism, but opens himself to generous commitment in
the society in which he lives in order to improve it."
Pope Benedict also addressed the need for
interreligious dialogue, noting that dialogue does not mean compromising
one’s own faith. We cannot, “ignore relations with other religions." But,
he said, such relations "are constructive only if they avoid all ambiguities
that in any way weaken the essential contents of Christian faith in Christ,
the only Savior of all mankind, and in the Church, a necessary sacrament for
the salvation of all humanity."
The Holy Father spoke of that fact that Jesuit education has always placed a
strong focus on the formation of the whole person and noted how the
university's statutes and general regulations are currently being renewed,
in order, he said, "to define the identity of the Gregorian University more
clearly, facilitating the preparation of the most appropriate academic
programs for carrying out its mission."
"As an ecclesial pontifical university, this academic institution is
committed to 'sentire in Ecclesia et cum Ecclesia.' This is a commitment
that arises from love for the Church, our Mother and Bride of Christ."
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