The Messages of Pope Benedict XVI - 3 of 4

The Messages of Pope Benedict XVI – 3 of 4
cinops be gone Wednesday, June 4, 2008

9. Sound Understanding of “Freedom:” (Cont’d from Miles Christi- May 2008)
“In a society that rightly values personal liberty, the Church needs to promote at every level of her teaching – in catechesis, preaching, seminary and university instruction – an apologetics aimed at affirming the truth of Christian revelation, the harmony of faith and reason, and a sound understanding of freedom, seen in positive terms as a liberation both from the limitation of sin and for an authentic and fulfilling life. In a word, the Gospel has to be preached and taught as an integral way of life, offering an attractive and true answer, intellectually and practically, to real human problems. The ‘dictatorship of relativism’, in the end, is nothing less than a threat to genuine freedom, which only matures in generosity and fidelity to the truth” (Address to the Bishops)

10. On Academic Freedom:
In regard to faculty members at Catholic colleges, universities, I wish to reaffirm the great value of academic freedom. In virtue of this freedom you are called to search for the truth wherever careful analysis leads you. Yet it is also the case that any appeal to the principle of academic freedom in order to justify positions that contradict the faith and the teaching of the Church would obstruct or even betray the university’s identity and mission; a mission at the heart of the Church’s munus docendi {office of Teaching} and not somehow autonomous or independent of it” (Address to Catholic Educators).

11. Hunger For God. “The spires of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral are dwarfed by the skyscrapers of the Manhattan skyline, yet in the heart of this busy metropolis, they are vivid reminder of the constant yearning of the human spirit to rise to God” (Address to Priests and Religious in NYC St. Patrick’s Cathedral).

12. Building Up a Catholic Culture: “The fidelity and courage which the Church in this country will respond to the challenges raised by an increasingly secular and materialistic culture will depend in large part upon your own fidelity in handing on the treasure of our Catholic faith… The challenges confronting us require a comprehensive and sound instruction in the truths of the faith. But they also call for cultivating a mindset, an intellectual ‘culture”, which is genuinely Catholic, confident in the profound harmony of faith and reason, and prepared to bring the richness of faith’s vision to bear on the urgent issues which affect the future of American society” (Homily at the Mass in the Washington Nationals Stadium, DC).

13. An Appeal For a Renewed Missionary Zeal.
“I pray, then, that this is significant anniversary in the life of the Church in the United States, and the presence of the Successor of Peter in your midst, will be an occasion for all Catholics to reaffirm their unity in the apostolic faith, to offer their contemporaries a convincing account of the hope which inspires them, and to be renewed in missionary zeal for the extension of God’s Kingdom. The world needs this witness! Who can deny that the present moment is a crossroads, not only for the Church in America but also for society and vital movements, in the enthusiasm for the faith shown by so many young people, in the number of those who each year embrace the Catholic faith, and in a greater interest in prayer and catechesis” (ibid.).
George H. Kubeck, Duplicate and or translate in to Spanish and Vietnamese.