Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “Ten years later, an attentive reading of the encyclical Fides et Ratio allows us to admire its constant relevance: it reveals the profound and long-sightedness of my unforgettable Predecessor.” These were the words of the Holy Father Benedict XVI on October 16, when he received participants in the International Congress promoted by the Pontifical Lateran University, for the 10th anniversary of the encyclical “Fides et ratio.”
The Holy Father said that “the Encyclical is characterized by its great openness to reason, especially in a period in which there is speculation about its weakness. John Paul II underlined the importance of uniting faith and reason in a reciprocal relationship, while respecting the autonomy proper to each. With this document, the Church interpreted an emerging need of the modern social context. She sought to defend the force of reason and its capacity to arrive at truth, while once again presenting the faith as a specific form of knowledge thanks to which we open to the truth of Revelation...Who can deny the contribution the great philosophical systems have made to the development of man's self-knowledge and to the progress of various cultures? Indeed, these cultures become fruitful when they open to truth, enabling those who participate in them to reach objectives that make social life ever more human. The search for truth bears fruits, especially when it is sustained by a love for truth.”
The Holy Father also mentioned that “the fact that there has been a slide from a prevalently speculative form of thought to a chiefly empirical one,” in that “research has turned to focus above all on the observation of nature in the attempt to discover its secrets. And the desire to understand nature has then been transformed into the desire to reproduce it. This change has not been effortless: the development of the concepts has diminished the relation between fides and ratio, leading them down different paths.” The Pope pointed out the positive contribution of scientific research: “Scientific and technological progress, which 'fides' is increasingly called to confront, has altered the old concept of 'ratio'; in some way it has marginalised the reason that sought the ultimate truth of things to make way for a reason that satisfies itself with discovering the contingent truths of the laws of nature. Scientific research certainly has a positive value when the applied sciences are the fruit of reason and an expression of the intelligence with which man manages to penetrate the depths of creation. For its part, faith does nor fear scientific progress and the developments to which its achievements lead when their ultimate focus is man, his wellbeing and the progress of all humanity... However, sometimes scientists do not perform research with this focus in mind. Easy profit, or worse still, the arrogance of substituting the Creator, sometimes play a significant role...Science, is not capable of establishing ethical principles; it can only receive them and recognize them as necessary in uprooting its eventual pathology. In this context, philosophy and theology become an indispensable aid which must be taken into account to ensure that science does not advance alone along a difficult path full of pitfalls and not without risks. This does not mean limiting scientific research or impeding scientific technology from creating instruments for progress. Rather, it implies keeping alive the sense of responsibility which reason and faith must have towards science, to ensure it remains at the service of man.”
Benedict XVI concluded his speech by recalling that “the truth of Revelation is not superimposed on the truth achieved by reason, rather it purifies and exalts reason, enabling it to expand beyond its confines to become part of a field of research as unfathomable as the mystery itself. The truth revealed in the 'fullness of time' (Gal 4:4), has taken on the face of a person, Jesus of Nazareth, who offers the ultimate and definitive response to the question of man's meaning in life.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 17/10/2008)
