SCIENCE MUST PROMOTE THE HUMAN SEARCH FOR WHAT IS GOOD

VATICAN CITY, OCT 21, 2006 (VIS) - This morning, the Holy Father visited the Pontifical Lateran University to mark the opening of the academic year. Prior to the ceremony, he blessed the institution's new "St. Pius X" library, the "John Paul II" reading room, and the recently-restored Great Hall, which has been given the name "Benedict XVI."

  After greeting Cardinal Camillo Ruini and Bishop Rino Fisichella, respectively chancellor and rector of the university, as well as religious and academic representatives, Benedict XVI addressed some remarks to those present.

  "In a context such as that of academia," he said, "we are especially invited to consider the question of the crisis of culture and identity which recent decades have, not without drama, faced us. ... The university is one of the best places to seek appropriate ways to resolve this situation," because it "safeguards the wealth of living tradition down the centuries. Universities can reveal the fruitfulness of truth when accepted in all its authenticity," and "form new generations, who await a serious proposal ... capable of answering the perennial question about the meaning of their life."

  "The contemporary world," he continued, "seems to give pride of place to an artificial intelligence ever more dominated by experimental techniques and thus forgetful that science must always defend man and promote his efforts towards true good. Overestimating 'doing' and obscuring 'being' does not help to recompose that fundamental balance which everyone needs in order to give life a firm foundation and a valid goal."

  "Mankind," the Pope added, "is called to give meaning to its actions, especially when they enter the territory of a scientific discovery that compromises the very essence of personal life. To allow oneself to be carried away by the joy of discovery, without safeguarding the criteria that arise from a more profound view, would be to relive the drama of the ancient myth: the young Icarus, carried away with the desire of flying to absolute freedom ... got ever closer to the sun, forgetting that the wings upon which he rose to the skies were made of wax. His fall and death were the price he paid for his illusion. ... There are other illusions in life that cannot be trusted without the risk of disastrous consequences for one's own existence and that of others."

  Addressing the university professors, Benedict XVI told them that they have "the task not only to investigate truth, ... but also to promote knowledge of every aspect of that truth, defending it from reductive and distorting interpretations. ... This is of vital importance in order to confer a deeply-rooted identity on personal life, and to encourage responsibility in social relationships."

  "Understanding the true essence of things, even things of minimal importance, takes great effort," said the Holy Father quoting the words of Erasmus of Rotterdam. "This is the effort the university must be committed to make, through study and research."

  "God is the ultimate truth to which all reason naturally tends, impelled by the desire to fulfill the journey it has been assigned. God is not an empty word or an abstract hypothesis. ... He is the foundation upon which to build life. ... Believers know that this God has a face and that with Jesus Christ, once and for all, He came close to man. ... To know Him is to know the full truth, thanks to which we find freedom."
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