VATICAN CITY, NOV 17, 2005 (VIS) - On Tuesday, November 15, the annual public session of the pontifical academies was held in the Vatican's New Synod Hall. In this session, the tenth since John Paul II established the coordinating council for the pontifical academies in 1995, the central theme - "Christ, Son of God, perfect man, 'the measure of true humanism'," - was prepared by the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas and by the Pontifical Academy of Theology.
During the meeting, the prize and medals of the pontifical academies were also distributed. Benedict XVI awarded the 2005 prize to the Italian Giovanni Catapano for his work, "The concept of philosophy in the early writings of St. Augustine. An analysis of meta-philosophical passages from 'Contra Academicos,' to 'De vera religione'." The Pope also awarded two pontifical medals, one to the Spaniard Fr. Santiago Sanz Sanchez for his dissertation, "The relationship between creation and covenant in contemporary theology," and another to the Italian Massimiliano Marianelli for his book, "The metaphor rediscovered. Myth and symbol in the philosophy of Simone Weil."
The Pope also sent a message to participants in the event, expressing his appreciation for the theme of the meeting, because of its "central and essential importance both in theological reflections and in each Christian's experience of faith. Modern culture, so deeply marked by a subjectivism which leads not infrequently to extreme individualism or to relativism, drives people to consider man as the only measure by which to judge themselves, losing sight of other objectives not centered on the self, which has become the only criterion for evaluating reality and their own choices.
"In this way, the Pope went on, "man tends to fall back ever more onto himself, to close himself in an airless existential microcosm, where there is no longer any space for great ideals open to transcendence, to God. On the other hand, man who overcomes himself and does not allow himself to be closed in the narrow confines of his own egoism is capable of an authentic contemplation of others and of creation."
"Certain cultural currents and tendencies seek to leave man in his minority, in prolonged infancy or adolescence. The Word of God, on the other hand, spurs us decisively to maturity and invites us to commit ourselves with all our strength to a high measure of humanity."
"It is Jesus Christ - Son of God, given by the Father to humanity to restore its image which was disfigured by sin, the perfect man - against Whom true humanism is measured. All men must assess themselves against Him. It is to Him that, with the help of grace, man must tend with all his heart and all his mind, in order to fully realize his existence."
MESS/SESSION PONTIFICAL ACADEMIES/... VIS 20051117 (470)
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