Vatican City, 4 September 2015 (VIS) –
Yesterday Pope Francis sent a video message to the participants in
the Second International Congress of Theology, on the theme “Vatican
II: memory, present and prospects”, held in Buenos Aires from 1 to
3 September to commemorate the centenary of the Faculty of Theology
at the Catholic University of Argentina (UCA), and the fiftieth
anniversary of the conclusion of Vatican Council II. Extensive
extracts from the message are published below:
“The anniversary of the Faculty of
Theology celebrates the coming to maturity of a particular Church. It
celebrates life, history, the faith of the People of God journeying
on earth and in search of 'understanding' and 'truth' from their own
positions. … It seems to me of great importance to link this event
with the 50th anniversary of the Closing of Vatican Council II. There
exists no isolated particular Church that can be said to be the owner
and sole interpreter of the reality and the work of the Spirit. No
community has a monopoly over interpretation or inculturation just
as, on the other hand, there is no universal Church that turns away
from, ignores or neglects the local situation”.
“And this leads us to assume that it
is not the same to be a Christian … in India, in Canada, or in
Rome. Therefore, one of the main tasks of the theologian is to
discern and to reflect on what it means to be a Christian today, in
the 'here and now'. How does that original source manage to irrigate
these lands today, and to make itself visible and liveable? … To
meet this challenge, we must overcome two possible temptations:
first, condemning everything: … assuming 'everything was better in
the past', seeking refuge in conservatism or fundamentalism, or
conversely, consecrating everything, disavowing everything that does
not have a 'new flavour', relativising all the wisdom accumulated in
our rich ecclesial heritage. The path to overcoming these temptations
lies in reflection, discernment, and taking both the ecclesiastical
tradition and current reality very seriously, placing them in
dialogue with one another”.
“Not infrequently an opposition
between theology and pastoral ministry emerges, as if they were two
opposite, separate realities that had nothing to do with each other.
We not infrequently identify doctrine with conservatism and
antiquity; and on the contrary, we tend to think of pastoral ministry
in terms of adaptation, reduction, accommodation. As if they had
nothing to do with each other. A false opposition is generated
between theology and pastoral ministry, between Christian reflection
and Christian life. … The attempt to overcome this divorce between
theology and pastoral ministry, between faith and life, was indeed
one of the main contributions of Vatican Council II”.
“I cannot overlook the words of John
XXIII in the Council's opening discourse, when he said 'The substance
of the ancient doctrine of the depositum fidei is one thing; and the
way in which it is presented is another'. We must turn again ... to
the arduous task of distinguishing the living message from the form
of its transmission, from the cultural elements in which it is
codified at a given time”.
“Do not allow the exercise of
discernment to lead to a betrayal of the content of the message. The
lack of this theological exercise detrimental to the mission we are
invited to perform. Doctrine is not a closed, private system deprived
of dynamics able to raise questions and doubts. On the contrary,
Christian doctrine has a face, a body, flesh; He is called Jesus
Christ and it is His Life that is offered from generation to
generation to all men and in all places”.
The questions our people pose, their
anguish, their quarrels, their dreams, their struggles, their
concerns all have hermeneutical value we cannot ignore if we are to
take seriously the principal of incarnation. … Our formulations of
faith were born of dialogue, encounter, comparison and contact with
different cultures, communities and nations in situations calling for
greater reflection on matters not previously clarified. For
Christians, something becomes suspicious when we no longer admit the
need for it to be criticised by others. People and their specific
conflicts, their peripheries, are not optional, but rather necessary
for a better understanding of faith. Therefore it is important to ask
whom we are thinking of when we engage in theology. Let us not forget
that the Holy Spirit in a praying people is the subject of theology.
A theology that is not born of this would offer something beautiful
but not real”.
“In this regard, I would like to
explain three features of the identity of the theologian:
1. The theologian is primarily a son of
his people. He cannot and does not wish to ignore them. He knows his
people, their language, their roots, their histories, their
tradition. He is a man who learns to appreciate what he has received
as a sign of God's presence because he knows that faith does not
belong to him. This leads him to recognise that the Christian people
among whom he was born have a theological sense that he cannot
ignore.
2. The theologian is a believer. The
theologian is someone who has experience of Jesus Christ and has
discovered he cannot live without Him. ... The theologian knows that
he cannot live without the object / subject of his love, and devotes
his life to sharing this with his brothers.
3. The theologian is a prophet. One of
the greatest challenges in today's world is not merely the ease with
which it is possible to dispense with God; socially it has taken a
step further. The current crisis pivots on the inability of people to
believe in anything beyond themselves. ... This creates a rift in
personal and social identities. This new situation gives rise to a
process of alienation, owing to a lack of past and therefore of
future. The theologian is thus a prophet, as he keeps alive an
awareness of the past and the invitation that comes from the future.
He is a able to denounce any alienating form as he intuits,
reflecting on the river of Tradition he has received from the Church,
the hope to which we are called”.
“Therefore, there is only one way of
practising theology: on one's knees. It is not merely the pious act
of prayer before then thinking of theology. It is a dynamic reality
of thought and prayer. Practising theology on one's knees means
encouraging thought when praying and prayer when thinking”.
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