The Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, has sent a letter - in the name of the Holy Father - to Cardinal Angelo Scola, President of the G. Toniolo Institute of Advanced Studies marking the 92nd National Day for the Sacred Heart Catholic University.
To His Eminence, Angelo Cardinal Scola
President of the G. Toniolo Institute for Advanced Studies
Sacred Heart University (Rome)
Your Eminence,
The world finds itself having to confront constantly growing and evermore demanding challenges that call for mature and competent personalities who are capable of committing themselves with generosity to new national and international scenarios. This is one of the principal goals of the Catholic University, to which the Church confides the task of forming new generations in the light of principles based on the Christian faith and on Catholic tradition in order to build networks of authentic solidarity that can contribute to the common good. To meet this demanding need, it is necessary, first of all, as the Holy Father has reminded us: to prepare the hearts of students so that the Lord can make himself known in his entirety, that is to say, in the totality of humanity which also possesses the dimension of transcendence (Speech to the participants in the World Congress promoted by the Congregation for Catholic Education, 21 November 2015).
Without keeping an eye fixed on the fundamental values of truth, goodness, justice and peace which are born of an authentic openness to the spirit, it will never be possible to contrast the strong motivation toward materialism and scientific positivism that seem to be the dominant factors which control the movements of the culture and society of our time. For this reason, it is important that we renew every effort so that the new generations will find people, institutions and places where they will be able to achieve an integral formation made possible through open and constructive dialogue between faith and reason, between various sectors of knowledge and theology. In this perspective, the contribution advanced in Italy by the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, which Father Agostino Gemelli, along with his collaborators wanted as a place of solid and qualified referral for the formation of new generations in various fields of knowledge and in various professional areas is most praiseworthy.
No less today than ever before, it is urgent that we invest in the formation of the youth who are experiencing today a stage of incertitude and precariousness either from social points of view or subject to the religious point of view, as has been amply documented by studies conducted through the Youth Report which was conducted by the Toniolo Institute and the Catholic University. The precious and qualified service offered by this Italian Catholic University, ever since its inception, is supported by the close relationship and contribution provided by the ecclesial community which celebrates every year a National Day for the Sacred Heart Catholic University. As the theme for the 92nd such Day, which will be celebrated on Sunday, April 10, you have chosen: I will be present in the Italy of tomorrow, wishing through this expression to explicitly welcome the invitation which the Holy Father issued to youth during the Ecclesial Convention held in Florence. Inviting them to be witnesses of a new humanism beginning with the figure and the attitudes of Jesus, he told them: I ask you to be builders of Italy, to put yourselves to work toward the building of a better Italy. And in a time which requires us to experience problems as challenges and not as obstacles, he pointed out for them a path that is configured also as a concrete realization of the Year of Mercy: You, therefore, are setting out on the way and going to the crossroads: call everyone you find, invite them all, with no exceptions (cf Mt 22:9 - quoted in the Speech delivered in the Cathedral of Florence while addressing participants in the National Ecclesial Convention, 10 November 2015).
To educate young people from this perspective is a fascinating and very challenging task which requires a common and shared strength on the part of the entire ecclesial community. But it is also necessary that we maintain a constant capacity for the renewal of this same academic Institution which is called to combine the indispensable and constitutive values with the new demands of a complex university system that is open to new international scenarios. A hallmark of the Catholic University, in addition to offering a formation of the highest scientific level, should increasingly be one of strengthening education in solidarity with and at the service of the poor, through all the dimensions of knowledge and human life. A particular sign of this inseparable link between the academic dimension and service to those most in need and to those who are suffering, such as the sick, is offered by the A. Gemelli Politechnical University which has represented the fulfillment of the dream of its founder and should be more and more recognized as an exemplary place of formation and inspired Christian care.
While joyfully welcoming the jubilee pilgrimage to Saint Peter of the Catholic University, planned for April 9 of this year, the Holy Father assures you of his closeness and His constant remembrance in prayer, that the Italian Catholic University, supported by the Toniolo Institute for Superior Studies, may continue to offer our young people the support they need to achieve an integral formation to assist them in their life choices, helping above all those who have limited capacities and possibilities. In addition, with reference to this specific end, His Holiness will forward the usual contribution that the Holy Father has decided to allocate to this worthy Institute for Advanced Studies and I present my own personal wishes for the activities and the development of the Italian Catholic University.
While asking you to pray for Him and for His service to the Church, His Holiness renews his entrustment of the University to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to the Virgin Mary, Sedes Sapientiae (Seat of Wisdom), and sends a special Blessing to Your Eminence, to the Worthy Rector, to the Ecclesiastical General Assistant, to the members of the Toniolo Institute, to the illustrious professors, to the technical-administrative personnel and to all the students.
I take advantage of this opportunity to confirm my very best wishes to Your Eminence.
Pietro Cardinal Parolin
Secretary of State
Letter penned by the Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin
on the occasion of the 92nd anniversary
of the foundation of the Sacred Heart University (Rome)
To His Eminence, Angelo Cardinal Scola
President of the G. Toniolo Institute for Advanced Studies
Sacred Heart University (Rome)
Your Eminence,
The world finds itself having to confront constantly growing and evermore demanding challenges that call for mature and competent personalities who are capable of committing themselves with generosity to new national and international scenarios. This is one of the principal goals of the Catholic University, to which the Church confides the task of forming new generations in the light of principles based on the Christian faith and on Catholic tradition in order to build networks of authentic solidarity that can contribute to the common good. To meet this demanding need, it is necessary, first of all, as the Holy Father has reminded us: to prepare the hearts of students so that the Lord can make himself known in his entirety, that is to say, in the totality of humanity which also possesses the dimension of transcendence (Speech to the participants in the World Congress promoted by the Congregation for Catholic Education, 21 November 2015).
Without keeping an eye fixed on the fundamental values of truth, goodness, justice and peace which are born of an authentic openness to the spirit, it will never be possible to contrast the strong motivation toward materialism and scientific positivism that seem to be the dominant factors which control the movements of the culture and society of our time. For this reason, it is important that we renew every effort so that the new generations will find people, institutions and places where they will be able to achieve an integral formation made possible through open and constructive dialogue between faith and reason, between various sectors of knowledge and theology. In this perspective, the contribution advanced in Italy by the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, which Father Agostino Gemelli, along with his collaborators wanted as a place of solid and qualified referral for the formation of new generations in various fields of knowledge and in various professional areas is most praiseworthy.
No less today than ever before, it is urgent that we invest in the formation of the youth who are experiencing today a stage of incertitude and precariousness either from social points of view or subject to the religious point of view, as has been amply documented by studies conducted through the Youth Report which was conducted by the Toniolo Institute and the Catholic University. The precious and qualified service offered by this Italian Catholic University, ever since its inception, is supported by the close relationship and contribution provided by the ecclesial community which celebrates every year a National Day for the Sacred Heart Catholic University. As the theme for the 92nd such Day, which will be celebrated on Sunday, April 10, you have chosen: I will be present in the Italy of tomorrow, wishing through this expression to explicitly welcome the invitation which the Holy Father issued to youth during the Ecclesial Convention held in Florence. Inviting them to be witnesses of a new humanism beginning with the figure and the attitudes of Jesus, he told them: I ask you to be builders of Italy, to put yourselves to work toward the building of a better Italy. And in a time which requires us to experience problems as challenges and not as obstacles, he pointed out for them a path that is configured also as a concrete realization of the Year of Mercy: You, therefore, are setting out on the way and going to the crossroads: call everyone you find, invite them all, with no exceptions (cf Mt 22:9 - quoted in the Speech delivered in the Cathedral of Florence while addressing participants in the National Ecclesial Convention, 10 November 2015).
To educate young people from this perspective is a fascinating and very challenging task which requires a common and shared strength on the part of the entire ecclesial community. But it is also necessary that we maintain a constant capacity for the renewal of this same academic Institution which is called to combine the indispensable and constitutive values with the new demands of a complex university system that is open to new international scenarios. A hallmark of the Catholic University, in addition to offering a formation of the highest scientific level, should increasingly be one of strengthening education in solidarity with and at the service of the poor, through all the dimensions of knowledge and human life. A particular sign of this inseparable link between the academic dimension and service to those most in need and to those who are suffering, such as the sick, is offered by the A. Gemelli Politechnical University which has represented the fulfillment of the dream of its founder and should be more and more recognized as an exemplary place of formation and inspired Christian care.
While joyfully welcoming the jubilee pilgrimage to Saint Peter of the Catholic University, planned for April 9 of this year, the Holy Father assures you of his closeness and His constant remembrance in prayer, that the Italian Catholic University, supported by the Toniolo Institute for Superior Studies, may continue to offer our young people the support they need to achieve an integral formation to assist them in their life choices, helping above all those who have limited capacities and possibilities. In addition, with reference to this specific end, His Holiness will forward the usual contribution that the Holy Father has decided to allocate to this worthy Institute for Advanced Studies and I present my own personal wishes for the activities and the development of the Italian Catholic University.
While asking you to pray for Him and for His service to the Church, His Holiness renews his entrustment of the University to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to the Virgin Mary, Sedes Sapientiae (Seat of Wisdom), and sends a special Blessing to Your Eminence, to the Worthy Rector, to the Ecclesiastical General Assistant, to the members of the Toniolo Institute, to the illustrious professors, to the technical-administrative personnel and to all the students.
I take advantage of this opportunity to confirm my very best wishes to Your Eminence.
Pietro Cardinal Parolin
Secretary of State
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