A difficult task

“Europe today needs to preserve and re-appropriate her authentic tradition if she is to remain faithful to her vocation as the cradle of humanism”, said BENEDICT XVI last Saturday on receiving in audience the 1,500 participants in the meeting of university lecturers held in Rome from 21 to 24 June on the theme “A new humanism for Europe. The role of the universities”. The event was promoted on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome by the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE), in collaboration with European institutions and the Italian government. CONTRIBUTING TO A FUTURE OF HOPE . “Europe is presently experiencing a certain social instability and diffidence in the face of traditional values – continued Benedict XVI – yet her distinguished history and her established academic institutions have much to contribute to shaping a future of hope”. According to the Pope, the “question of man” is “essential for a correct understanding of current cultural processes and 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”. “Far from being the fruit of a superficial desire for novelty – added the pontiff – the quest for a new humanism must take serious account of the fact that Europe today is experiencing a massive cultural shift, one in which men and women are increasingly conscious of their call to be actively engaged in shaping their own history. Historically, it was Europe that humanism developed, thanks to the fruitful interplay between the various cultures of her people and the Christian faith”. “The present cultural shift – Benedict continued – 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. As men and women of higher education, you are called to take part in this demanding task, which calls for sustained reflection on a number of fundamental issues”. Benedict XVI then drew the attention of European university lecturers, accompanied by Cardinal Péter Erdö, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and President of the CCEE, to “the need for a comprehensive study of the crisis of modernity”: “A false dichotomy between theism and authentic humanism, taken to the extreme of positing an irreconcilable conflict between divine law and human freedom has led – said the Pope – to a situation in which humanity, for all its economic and technical advances, feels deeply threatened”. A SERVICE TO WISDOM . According to Benedict XVI, a “correct understanding of the challenges posed by contemporary culture, and the formulation of meaningful responses to those challenges, must take a critical approach towards narrow and ultimately irrational attempts to limit the scope of reason. The concept of reason needs instead to be ‘broadened’ in order to be able to explore and embrace those aspects of reality that go beyond the purely empirical”. Benedict noted that “the rise of the European universities was fostered by the conviction that faith and reason are meant to cooperate in the search for truth, each respecting the nature and legitimate autonomy of the other, yet working together harmoniously and creatively to serve the fulfilment of the human person in truth and love”. “The question of man, and thus of modernity, – he continued – challenges the Church to devise effective ways of proclaiming to contemporary culture the ‘realism’ of her faith in the saving work of Christ. Christianity – warned the Pope – 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 urged that society in Europe, as elsewhere, “needs the service to wisdom which the university community provides”. “It is my hope – Benedict XVI concluded – that universities will increasingly become communities committed to the tireless pursuit of truth”, “laboratories of culture” in which teachers and students “join in exploring issues of particular importance for society, employing interdisciplinary methods and counting on the collaboration of theologians”. A HARMONIOUS SYNTHESIS. “We are convinced – said Cardinal PETER ERDÖ in extending the greetings of European university lecturers to the Pope at the beginning of the audience – that we Christians personally are called to give a heart to Europe”, by reinforcing so-called “human values”, by making them “more genuine and operative in society”, and by “indicating their true foundations”.”We appreciate – added the cardinal – the efforts of all men and women of science who try to gain a better knowledge of the truth about some open questions, and of the true nature of things. Their work is indispensable to be able to proceed individually and at the social level in a truly moral and authentically human way in sometimes complex situations. The complexity of the results of research in the various sciences and the complexity present in our society – concluded the President of the CCEE – require the commitment of the scientific and university communities” so that the individual sciences may “be integrated in a harmonious synthesis in the light of the Gospel, and of Divine Wisdom”. FORMULATING A NEW HUMANISM . Before the audience with Benedict XVI the participants in the meeting attended a solemn eucharistic concelebration in St. Peter’s Basilica, presided over by Cardinal TARCISIO BERTONE , Secretary of State. In his homily the cardinal said that “formulating a new humanism and sharing it with the men and women of our European continent” represents “an important, I would say historic, stage in the life of your university communities”. The theme of the congress, “A new humanism for Europe”, epitomises and “unifies” – according to Cardinal Bertone – “the challenges of the present time” and indicates “the horizon in which university lecturers need to devote themselves to research, teaching and action in the years ahead”. In the view of the Vatican Secretary of State, it is “essential that the life of the lecturer be inspired and sustained by a robust and solid spiritual formation, and by the vital synthesis of scientific skill and theological knowledge, as the necessary prerequisites for identifying the lines of research and preventing the exploitation of knowledge for ends that are incompatible with the moral life of the individual and the good of society”. Sometimes – added Cardinal Bertone – “scientific errors and the negative consequences of a cultural project can, in some way, be forestalled and prevented, if the lecturer possesses and creates in his research group a shared and proven ‘intellectual honesty'”, which is, “now more than ever”, the path to take: it is “the great witness that lecturers are called to give to the new generations of students and intellectuals”. “The master, of which so many young people have a need – explained Bertone – is he who bears witness to being in tune with the aspirations of his own time, he who gives priority to the needs of truth and places them before his own, sometimes legitimate, personal interests”. Europe – concluded Cardinal Bertone – with its “Christian roots” is called “to formulate a new synthesis between faith and reason, no longer juxtaposed between each other, but converging” on the knowledge of the “real, concrete and historical” man.MORE PRESENT AND MORE COMPETENT. “Continuing the formulation of the thought of the new humanism is indispensable for evangelization in Europe and in this perspective we need to aim with greater conviction at the unity of knowledge, and rediscover convergences between truth, goodness and beauty”, said Monsignor ALDO GIORDANO , Secretary of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE), at the meeting of university lecturers promoted by the CCEE and concluded in Rome yesterday. “The network of universities – added Giordano – must now be reinforced to contribute to the integral growth of Europe and recall it to its global vocation”.Much the same appeal was made by Monsignor NOËL TREANOR , Secretary of COMECE, the Commission of the episcopates of the European Community. “It’s not easy – he said – but it’s indispensable to foster and disseminate within the European institutions the Christian point of view on such issues as life, the family, migration, freedom of education, and freedom of religion”. Christians, and especially Catholics, said Msgr. Noël Treanor, need to be “more present in the public debate on Europe, and at a high level, with solid and recognized competences. It is crucial to have high-profile experts who are able to give input to European policies. To this end, too, universities must provide a more specific and advanced European training”.