VATICAN CITY, 26 NOV 2009 (VIS) - Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi and Francesco Buranelli, respectively president and secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Patrimony of the Church, today held a press conference marking the twentieth anniversary of their dicastery.
Archbishop Ravasi recalled how, until the year 2007, the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Patrimony of the Church had had separate presidents, each with his own autonomy.
Yet, said the archbishop, when he himself was chosen to lead the Pontifical Council for Culture, the Pope decided to unify that dicastery with the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Patrimony of the Church and with the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, because all three deal with strictly cultural matters: the first with culture in general, the second with the Church's cultural and artistic heritage, and the third with the catacombs and their history.
For his part, Francesco Buranelli explained how "the administration of ecclesiastical cultural heritage is organised in accordance with the hierarchical structure of the Church. The universal Church", he said, "is the competency of this pontifical commission, while each episcopal conference is invited to establish a national office for the cultural patrimony of the Church".
On the subject of Holy See involvement with international organisations (UNESCO, Council of Europe, etc.), "the main objective ... consists in spreading an ever greater awareness of the role and specific value of religious cultural heritage, especially that of Christianity, in the cultural heritage of each nation and, consequently, in the global heritage of humankind", explained Professor Buranelli.
He likewise highlighted how the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Patrimony of the Church, following the teachings of Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, undertakes "not to fear the friendship between the Church and art, accepting once more the specific character of art in the West: ... that of seeking God on the basis of its own vision of man, while respecting the sensibility and culture of each artist".
Holy See participation in the 54th Venice Biennale of modern art, with a pavilion promoted by the pontifical commission will, Professor Buranelli concluded, "through interaction between artists and theologians, enable the development of a connective fabric of images and symbols which will allow our society to regain an awareness of its cultural roots and reacquire its capacity to see the invisible".
OP/ANNIVERSARY CULTURE COMMISSION/RAVASI VIS 20091126 (400)
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