Vatican
City, 21 June 2013
(VIS) – At 11:30 this morning in the John Paul II Hall of the Holy
See Press Office, a press conference was held to present the
activities of the "Vatican Foundation: Joseph Ratzinger -
Benedict XVI", in particular, its symposium “The Gospels:
History and Christology. The Research of Joseph Ratzinger”, which
will be held at the Pontifical Lateran University from 24 to 26
October of this year. The names of the candidates selected by its
academic committee for the Foundation's annual prize, which will be
conferred on 26 October, were also announced.
Benedict
XVI instituted the Foundation on 1 March, 2010, in response to the
desire expressed by many scholars over the years. One of the areas of
competency of the academic committee is precisely to establish the
criteria of excellence for the creation and assignment of prizes to
scholars who have distinguished themselves in the areas of
publication and/or academic research. The Foundation's aim is to
place the question of God at the heart of academic reflection. With
the Ratzinger Prize, one of the Foundation's three main activities,
it hopes to call attention to this subject. Its two principal
activities are awarding scholarships to those pursuing doctorates in
Theology and organizing conferences of high academic standard.
Speakers
at the conference included: Cardinal Camillo Ruini, president of the
Foundation's academic committee; Archbishop Jean-Louis Brugues, O.P.,
president of the symposium's organizing committee; Msgr. Luis Romera,
vice president of the symposium's organizing committee; and Msgr.
Giuseppe Scotti, the Foundation's president.
The
recipients of this year's Ratzinger Prize are the English Biblical
scholar Richard A. Burridge, dean of King's College London and
minister in the Anglican Communion—the first non-Catholic to
receive the award—and the German lay theologian Christian Schaller,
professor of Dogmatic Theology and deputy director of the Pope
Benedict XVI Institute of Regensburg, Germany, which is publishing
the complete works of Joseph Ratzinger.
“Richard
Burridge today,” said Cardinal Ruini, “is definitely an eminent
figure in the field of Biblical studies and not only of the English
language. In particular, he has made a great contribution in that
decisive area of the historical and theological recognition of the
Gospels' inseparable connection to Jesus of Nazareth.” Christian
Schaller will also be awarded the Ratzinger Prize, “not only for
his contribution to theological studies but also in recognition of
the role he is carrying out in the publication of Joseph Ratzinger's
complete works. This publication is of primary importance for the
future of studies inspired by the thought of Joseph
Ratzinger-Benedict XVI, which is the main purpose of our Foundation.”
Msgr.
Giuseppe Scotti, the Foundation's president, outlined some details
regarding the upcoming symposium to be held at Rome's Pontifical
Lateran University. It will be the Foundation's third conference. The
first—“Pilgrims of Truth, Pilgrims of Peace”—was held in
Bydgoszcz, Poland, in 2011. The second—“What Makes Man Man”—was
held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, last year.
This
year's symposium, “The Gospels: History and Christology”,
starting from Joseph Ratzinger's research, will focus on the major
themes of his trilogy on Jesus of Nazareth and will last three days.
The first day will address the issue of the Jesus of the Gospels,
considering them as texts. After a summary of the historical research
on the Jesus of the New Testament over the last centuries, the
contribution of papyrology to the study of those texts will be
analysed along with the definition of the literary genre of the
Gospels in comparison to Greco-Roman biographies and their historical
significance. Professors participating in the first day include: Dr.
Bernardo Estrada (Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome); Dr.
Juan Chapa (University of Navarra, Spain); Dr. Richard Burridge
(King's College, London); and Dr. Yves Simoens (Pontifical Biblical
Institute and Gregorian University, Rome).
The
second day will be dedicated to the figure of Jesus presented in the
Gospels and the theology they contain, also in relation to other New
Testament writings. First the reliability of the Gospel text will be
analysed, with the purpose of discovering who Jesus really was. Then
the historical figure that emerges from the Gospels and Pauline
witness will be outlined. Finally, the impact of the Gospels in Early
Christianity and the theology of the Fathers will be examined.
Speakers on the second day will include: Dr. Klaus Berger (University
of Heidelberg, Germany); Dr. John P. Meier (University of Notre Dame,
USA); Dr. Antonio Pitta (Pontifical Lateran University, Rome); and
Cardinal Prosper Grech (Pontifical Lateran University and
Augustinianum, Rome).
Joseph
Ratzinger's proposal of “Jesus of Nazareth” will be the key theme
of the third day. Professor Thomas Soding (University of Bochum,
Germany) and Cardinal Angelo Amato, S.D.B., prefect of the
Congregation for the Causes of Saints, will discuss the importance of
Ratzinger's research on exegesis, theology, and methodology. The
symposium will also address two specific areas: the figure of Jesus
in the Gospel passages relating his infancy and the Last Supper.
Professors Dr. Armand Puig I Tarrech (dean of the Theological Faculty
of Catalonia, Barcelona) and Dr. Ermenegildo Manicardi (Pontifical
Gregorian University, Rome) will coordinate the presentations of the
various experts in these areas.
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