Asia news has the text of the address that the Holy Father would have given today at Rome's La Sapienza university if a minority of its professors had not demonstrated an inability to follow up and understand a text quoting someone in order to illustrate a point.In his address, the Holy Father cites John Rawls who denies that religious doctrine has the character of "public" reasoning, (but nevertheless has a "private reasoning" that must be respected on the grounds of tradition.) Pope Benedict also refers once again to the atheist Habermas. I also heard tell that in his so-called "Divine Office" he regularly recites a verse from the Hebrew scriptures that says "there is no God" (Ps 13.1) Hey, folks! I think it's time for us all to go and lie down in St Peter's Square and protest that the Pope is an atheist!
Joking aside, the Holy Father concludes his fascinating and deeply erudite address:
And so let me go back to the initial point. What does the Pope have to do or say in a university? He certainly should not try to impose in an authoritarian manner his faith on others, which can only be freely offered. Beyond his ministry as Pastor of the Church and on the basis of the intrinsic nature of this pastoral ministry, it is his task to keep alive man’s responsiveness to the truth. Similarly he must again and always invite reason to seek out truth, goodness and God, and on this path urge it to see the useful lights that emerged during the history of the Christian faith and perceive Jesus Christ as the light that illuminates history and helps find the way towards the future.Read the whole address and muse on what kind of blockhead you would have to be to prevent him from delivering it at the university.
5 comments:
I think these Professors are showing how abysmal modern education is today compared to that established by the church in the Middle Ages. When I was doing my qulification in Social Work I merely had to chose my particular psychology, find all those who agreed with him and write and essay showing I understood it all. I did not have to pick holes in it and start again if I could not overcome these objections. This was what education was about in the middle ages. You had to meet every objection after you had quoted your theses. I am astonished just how narrow in thinking many of todays educated people are. I have no degrees but I am glad about that.
Over on WDTPRS, Fr Z recounts how even "radical anti-Catholic left-wing weirdo" Dario Fo complains about how badly the radicals screwed up.
If I were a student at that university, I'd never claim to be so. If I were a student atheist, I'd never claim to be in union with the "Professors" who led a revolt, for such is not dignified no matter what one's personal beliefs.
As a Catholic...I'm just sad that so many people have so prejudiced themselves against logic that they have abandoned their very faith in Reason in order to completely oppose it.
The fallen part of me wants to condemn them...the wanna-be Saint part of me wants to meet them in Purgatory so I can slap them upsid the head and ask them what the H-- they were thinking!
(Um...I have to qualify that last part by saying that altough I strive for Sainthood, I'm not sure I'll make it by the time I'm at death's door....pray for me....)
I've read it. It is superb.
JARay
Adoro Te Devote you are an absolute genius. I really love this idea of talking things over in Purgatory. I`ll wirte to my Bishop straight away. He will be grateful that I do not think he is going to hell.
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