"In current times, the evangelizing mission which is typical of the Church asks for both the propagation of the evangelical message, everywhere, and its deep penetration in the ways of thinking, in the judgement criteria and in the behaviours of the people. In short, it is necessary for the whole culture of contemporary man to be permeated with the Gospel". Those words were spoken by Benedict XVI to the teachers and students of the Papal and Ecclesial Universities of Rome, who met today in the Vatican Basilica for the traditional meeting marking the beginning of the new academic year. With the words of the Apostolic Constitution Sapientia Cristiana by John Paul II, the Pope confirmed the aims of these institutions: "cultivating and promoting one’s disciplines through scientific research, and above all, deepening the knowledge of the Christian Revelation and of what is connected with it, systematically explaining the truth contained in it, considering the new emerging problems in their light, and submitting them to the men of current times in ways that fit different cultures". This commitment is "really urgent in our post-modern epoch, where there is the need for a new evangelization, which needs faith masters, heralds and conveniently prepared witnesses of the Gospel". (To be continued)
