As for the topic "Meaning and method of theology", subject of study for the International Theological Commission in the last five years, the Pope underlined "its importance and modernity. In a global society like the one which is taking shape today, theologians are asked by the general public, above all, to promote dialogue between religions and cultures, to pay a contribution to the development of an ethics whose basic principles should be peace, justice, and environment preservation". They are "really fundamental values – said the Pope -. However, if theology limited itself just to those values, not only would it lose its identity, but also the very foundations of those values". The main priority of theology, recalled the Pope, "is talking about God, thinking of God. And theology talks about God not as a hypothesis of our thought. It talks about God because God himself talked to us". Therefore, "the real task of theology is entering the Word of God, trying to understand it as far as possible, and to let our world understand it, thus finding the answers to our great questions". In this work, concluded the Pope, "it is also clear that not only isn’t faith opposite to reason, but it opens the eyes of reason, broadening our horizon and allowing us to find the right answers to the challenges posed by different times".
