VATICAN CITY, NOV 9, 2004 (VIS) - Cardinals, bishops, ambassadors, priests and religious and the presidents of seven pontifical academies attended today's Ninth Public Session of the academies during which the Holy Father's speech was read by Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, substitute for General Affairs.
Cardinal Paul Poupard, also present this morning, is the president of the Coordinating Council Between Pontifical Academies, founded by John Paul II in 1995 and comprised of the presidents of the Pontifical Academies of St. Thomas Aquinas, Theology, the Immaculata, the International Marian, Fine Arts and Letters of the Virtuosi of the Pantheon, Roman Academy of Archeology and the "Cultorum Martyrum" Academy.
The Pope called the theme of this year's meeting, "'Via pulchritudinis' a privileged itinerary for the encounter between the Christian faith and the cultures of our times." He underscored how the Church, over 2,000 years, "has traveled in many ways the paths of beauty" and has encouraged, inspired and accompanied art and artists in fields such as architecture, sculpture, painting, miniatures, musical works, literature and the theater.
"Could mankind today," he asked, "enjoy such a vast artistic patrimony if the Christian community had not encouraged and supported the creativity of countless artists, proposing to them, as a model and source of inspiration, the beauty of Christ, the splendor of the Father?" He thanked artists for their work and encouraged them to help "promote a new Christian humanism" which could become "an itinerary of dialogue and peace among peoples."
The meeting concluded with two awards: the annual prize of the Pontifical Academies was given to the Benedictine Abbey of Keur Moussa in Senegal and a medal of the Holy Father's pontificate was awarded to the "Ipotesi Cinema" School of Cinematography and the Inter-University Choir of Rome.
AC/MEETING PONTIFICAL ACADEMIES/POUPARD VIS 20041109 (300)
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