PAPAL WISHES FOR 75TH SACRED HEART CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY DAY

VATICAN CITY, APR 15, 1999 (VIS) - On the occasion of the 75th Sacred Heart Catholic University Day, Pope John Paul expressed his "cordial esteem" to Sergio Zaninelli, rector of the Milan university, in a letter written by Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano.

The letter, published today, accompanied a monetary gift. It highlighted the theme of the forthcoming day: "Investing in Culture. 75 Years of Looking Towards the Future."

"Over these past decades," Cardinal Sodano writes, "Sacred Heart Catholic University, faithful to its academic vocation, has promoted scientific research and the formation of new generations and, firmly anchored to the Christian identity, has always considered its activity as a service to the Church and the Gospel. In such a way, it has been able to become the proper place for the search for a harmonious synthesis between faith and reason, realizing one of the typical aims of the academic institution, that of helping people to progress on the path towards truth."

The cardinal then lists what he calls four "characteristics" or "objectives" of Sacred Heart Catholic University: "the consolidation of its bond with the Church and with her cultural and social presence"; its role "as a protagonist at the center of an international network of exchanges and relationships"; its duty to "not merely transmit content and methods, but to make an systematic commitment to communicate values" and the need for innovative ongoing formation to meet new challenges "in the cultural, production and territorial contexts."

In closing remarks, Cardinal Sodano writes: "To harmonize human and scientific research with the dictates of Revelation is a particularly necessary duty because, as is known, the separation between faith and reason, which marks many expressions of modern culture, has produced a dangerous impoverishment of both."

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