JOHN PAUL II: "THE CHURCH NEEDS ART"

VATICAN CITY, APR 23, 1999 (VIS) - Cardinal Paul Poupard, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, this morning presented the "Letter of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to Artists" at the Holy See Press Office.

The cardinal said that in this letter, the Pope includes "personal reflections from his own life, and from his own artistic experiences as a poet, writer, dramatist and artist, as well as Pontiff."

"There are three perspectives in which (he) expresses his personal dialogue with artists: on a theological level, a historical level and on an ... ethical-existential level."

With regards to the theological perspective, the cardinal affirmed that "the Most Holy Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - fills the soul of the artist and their works."

Referring to the historical perspective, said the cardinal, the Pope recalls that in the classical world, "that which is 'beautiful' is joined with that which is 'true'." The characteristic of the Middle Ages is "the art of icons," and in Humanism and the Renaissance there is "interest in everything human, in the world and the reality of history - 'in itself, such a concern is not at all a danger for Christian faith, centered on the mystery of the Incarnation'. Finally, the modern era, with its lights and shadows, is marked by the absence of God and often by opposition to God."

Thirdly, continued the cardinal, there is the ethical-existential perspective. "The Pope invites (us), in his own words, to 'creatively penetrate the mystery of God incarnate, and at the same time, the mystery of man.' This is a true mission. 'All men and women are entrusted with the task of crafting their own life: in a certain sense, they are to make it a work of art, a masterpiece'."

Cardinal Poupard said that at the end of the letter, John Paul II states that 'the Church needs art', and that it 'must make perceptible ... the world of the spirit'. The Pontiff moreover asks the question that he himself defines as a "provocation": "Does art need the Church?" He answers that we cannot ignore the way in which artists are inspired by religion.

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