VATICAN CITY, NOV 23, 2004 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received the rector and members of the faculty and staff of the Nicolaus Copernicus University of Torun in Poland who presented him with the title of doctor "honoris causa." "I accept it with gratitude," said the Pope, "as a sign of dialogue between science and faith in continual development."
John Paul II recalled that during his visit to the university in June of 1999, he spoke about this dialogue, "which is called to overcome the contrast, made during the Enlightenment, of truth reached through reason and truth known through faith. Today we understand ever more that it is the same truth and that it is necessary for men and women not to walk alone but to try to confirm their own intuition through dialogue with others when reaching the truth on their own."
"Only in this way," he continued, "will experts and men of culture be capable of assuming that special responsibility which I spoke about in Torun: 'the responsibility of truth; to strive towards it, to defend it and to live according to it'."
The Pope expressed his joy that the university "is developing with dynamism, putting science ever more in the reach of young people. ... I know that this development is taking place with the help of the local authorities of a city that can certainly be called a 'college town.' May this common work serve the city of Torun, the region and all of Poland."
AC/POPE:HONORIS CAUSA/TORUN VIS 20041123 (270)
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