At 11:50am today (Rome time), in the Clementine Hall at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience the members of the Italian Theological Association who are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their Association.
Dear brothers and sisters,
I welcome you and I thank your President for his words. In these days, we are immersed in the joyous contemplation of the mystery of our God, who has become so involved and even compromised with our human poverty that he sent his Son to take on our fragile flesh. Every Christian theological thought must begin from this point, in a reflection that will never exhaust the living source of divine Love, which allowed himself to be filled, looked upon and savoured in the creche in Bethlehem.
In 2017, the Italian Theological Association reached the age of half a century. I am happy to unite myself with you in giving thanks to the Lord for those who, fifty years ago, had the courage to take the initiative to give life to the Italian Theological Association; for those who are part of it at this time, offering their presence, their intelligence and the effort of a freely given but responsible reflection; and above all, I give thanks for the contribution that your Association has given to the Church, with research that has always been proposed - with the critical effort that it possesses - to be in harmony with the fundamental stages and the challenges of ecclesial life in Italy.
It is worth noting the fact that the Italian Theological Association was born - as is outlined in the first article of your Statutes: in the spirit of service and of communion indicated in the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. The Church should always refer to that event, with which she began a new stage of evangelization (Bulla Misericordiae vultus, 4) and with which she assumed the responsibility of proclaiming the gospel in a new, more consonant way to a world and a culture that is profoundly changed. It is evident that this effort requires the whole Church, and theologians in particular, to be receptive to creative faithfulness: aware that throughout these 50 years, there have been further changes and trusting that the gospel will continue to touch the men and women of today. For this reason, I ask you to continue remaining faithful and anchored, in your theological work, to the Council and to the capacity that the Church has demonstrated to allow herself to be watered and fed by the constant newness of the gospel of Christ; as you have done in these former decades, as evidenced by the themes you have chosen and discussed in Congresses and in Refresher courses, as well as in recent powerful commentaries on all the documents of Vatican II.
In particular, it is a cherished fruit of the Council and a treasure to not disperse the fact that you have felt and continue to feel the need to do theology together, as an Association which includes more than 330 theologians. This aspect is a matter of style which already expresses something essential to the Truth at whose service theology arises. We cannot think, in fact, of serving the Truth of a God who is Love, eternal communion with the Father, Son and Spirit and whose salvific plan is to establish communion between Himself and all men, and between all human beings, doing this in an individual or pluralistic manner, or worse yet in a competitive way. A theologian's search can only be personal; but a search for people who are as much as possible immersed in a theological community, a community of which they feel a part and truly are, including bonds of authentic solidarity and friendship. This is not a secondary aspect of theological ministry!
A ministry for which there continues to be a great need in the Church. In fact it is true that to be authentic believers, it is not necessary to have conducted academic courses in theology. There is a sense of the realities of faith that belongs to all the people of God, even those who have no particular intellectual means to express it, and yet who ask to be met and listened to - I am thinking about the famous infallibility in believing: we should go there from time to time - and there are also very simple people who know how to sharpen their eyes of faith. It is in this living faith of the holy and faithful people of God that every theologian must feel immersed and which he (or she) must also know how to support, carry and embrace. However, this does not always mean that there is a need for this specific theological work through which, as the holy doctor Bonaventure said, we can arrive at a credible ut intelligibile, as to what is believed and what is understood. It is a requirement of the full humanity of the believers themselves, above all, because our belief is fully human and does not escape the thirst for conscience and understanding, most profoundly and fully as pertains to what we believe. And it is a requirement of communicating faith, so that always and everywhere it should appear that faith does not mutilate that which is human, but always presents itself as an appeal to people's freedom.
And above all, the desire and the perspective of a Church on a missionary journey which has a resulting theological mission in this moment in history is most important. In fact, a Church that remains thus preoccupied, as I said in Evangelii gaudium, with making evident to women and men the essential truths that are fundamental to the gospel, or the beauty of the salvific love of God manifested in Jesus Christ who died and rose again (EG, 36). Such an essential task, in an age of complexity and scientific and technical development without precedent and in a culture that, in the past was permeated by Christianity but in which today we can find distorted visions of the very heart of the gospel, make the great work of theology all the more indispensable. In order for the Church to continue proclaiming the central message of the gospel to men and women today, in order that the gospel may truly reach the people personally and in order that this message may permeate society in all its dimensions, the task of theology is indispensable, with your efforts to rethink the great themes of Christian faith within a culture that has been profoundly changed.
We need a theology that helps all Christians to proclaim and to demonstrate, above all, the salvific face of God, the merciful God, especially in the face of some unprecedented challenges involving humanity today: such as the ecological crisis, the crisis of development of neurosciences or of technologies that can change humans; like that of the ever-greater social inequalities or migrations of entire peoples; like theoretical relativism but also practical relativism. This is why there is a need for theology that, in keeping with the best traditions of the Italian Theological Association, is provided by Christians who are not only considering talking among themselves, but who know that they are at the service of various particular Churches and of the universal Church; and theology that is provided by those who are also willing to take on the task of rethinking the Church so that she can conform to the gospel that she must proclaim.
I am pleased to know that many times and in various ways, even in recent times, you have already done this: explicitly addressing the theme of proclaiming the gospel and the forma Ecclesiae, of synodality, of the ecclesial presence in the context of the laity and democracy, and power within the Church. Therefore, I hope that your research may nourish and enrich all the people of God. And I want to add a few thoughts that came to me while you were speaking. Do not lose the capacity for wonder; do theology within the context of wonder. Wonder that leads us to Christ, the encounter with Christ. It is like air in which our reflection can be more fruitful. And I also repeat another thing that I have said to you: the theologian is one who studies, thinks, reflects, but he does this on his knees. Do theology on your knees, like the great Fathers of the Church. The great Fathers who used to think, pray, adore, praise: strong theology, which is fundamental to all Christian theological development. And I also repeat a third thing that I have said here, but I want to repeat it because it is important: do theology in the Church, which is to say within the faithful people of God who have - I will say it with a non-theological word - who have a nose for faith. I remember, once, in confession, a dialogue that I had with an elderly Portuguese woman who was accusing herself of sins that do not exist, but she was such a deep believer! I asked her a few questions and she replied well; in the end, I wanted to say: But, tell me madam: have you studied at the Gregorian university? She was truly a simple woman, simple, but she had a nose, she had the sensus fidei, that part of faith that can never be wrong.
With all my heart, I grant you my blessing, and please, don't forget to pray for me.
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
addressed to members of the Italian Theological Association
Dear brothers and sisters,
I welcome you and I thank your President for his words. In these days, we are immersed in the joyous contemplation of the mystery of our God, who has become so involved and even compromised with our human poverty that he sent his Son to take on our fragile flesh. Every Christian theological thought must begin from this point, in a reflection that will never exhaust the living source of divine Love, which allowed himself to be filled, looked upon and savoured in the creche in Bethlehem.
In 2017, the Italian Theological Association reached the age of half a century. I am happy to unite myself with you in giving thanks to the Lord for those who, fifty years ago, had the courage to take the initiative to give life to the Italian Theological Association; for those who are part of it at this time, offering their presence, their intelligence and the effort of a freely given but responsible reflection; and above all, I give thanks for the contribution that your Association has given to the Church, with research that has always been proposed - with the critical effort that it possesses - to be in harmony with the fundamental stages and the challenges of ecclesial life in Italy.
It is worth noting the fact that the Italian Theological Association was born - as is outlined in the first article of your Statutes: in the spirit of service and of communion indicated in the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. The Church should always refer to that event, with which she began a new stage of evangelization (Bulla Misericordiae vultus, 4) and with which she assumed the responsibility of proclaiming the gospel in a new, more consonant way to a world and a culture that is profoundly changed. It is evident that this effort requires the whole Church, and theologians in particular, to be receptive to creative faithfulness: aware that throughout these 50 years, there have been further changes and trusting that the gospel will continue to touch the men and women of today. For this reason, I ask you to continue remaining faithful and anchored, in your theological work, to the Council and to the capacity that the Church has demonstrated to allow herself to be watered and fed by the constant newness of the gospel of Christ; as you have done in these former decades, as evidenced by the themes you have chosen and discussed in Congresses and in Refresher courses, as well as in recent powerful commentaries on all the documents of Vatican II.
In particular, it is a cherished fruit of the Council and a treasure to not disperse the fact that you have felt and continue to feel the need to do theology together, as an Association which includes more than 330 theologians. This aspect is a matter of style which already expresses something essential to the Truth at whose service theology arises. We cannot think, in fact, of serving the Truth of a God who is Love, eternal communion with the Father, Son and Spirit and whose salvific plan is to establish communion between Himself and all men, and between all human beings, doing this in an individual or pluralistic manner, or worse yet in a competitive way. A theologian's search can only be personal; but a search for people who are as much as possible immersed in a theological community, a community of which they feel a part and truly are, including bonds of authentic solidarity and friendship. This is not a secondary aspect of theological ministry!
A ministry for which there continues to be a great need in the Church. In fact it is true that to be authentic believers, it is not necessary to have conducted academic courses in theology. There is a sense of the realities of faith that belongs to all the people of God, even those who have no particular intellectual means to express it, and yet who ask to be met and listened to - I am thinking about the famous infallibility in believing: we should go there from time to time - and there are also very simple people who know how to sharpen their eyes of faith. It is in this living faith of the holy and faithful people of God that every theologian must feel immersed and which he (or she) must also know how to support, carry and embrace. However, this does not always mean that there is a need for this specific theological work through which, as the holy doctor Bonaventure said, we can arrive at a credible ut intelligibile, as to what is believed and what is understood. It is a requirement of the full humanity of the believers themselves, above all, because our belief is fully human and does not escape the thirst for conscience and understanding, most profoundly and fully as pertains to what we believe. And it is a requirement of communicating faith, so that always and everywhere it should appear that faith does not mutilate that which is human, but always presents itself as an appeal to people's freedom.
And above all, the desire and the perspective of a Church on a missionary journey which has a resulting theological mission in this moment in history is most important. In fact, a Church that remains thus preoccupied, as I said in Evangelii gaudium, with making evident to women and men the essential truths that are fundamental to the gospel, or the beauty of the salvific love of God manifested in Jesus Christ who died and rose again (EG, 36). Such an essential task, in an age of complexity and scientific and technical development without precedent and in a culture that, in the past was permeated by Christianity but in which today we can find distorted visions of the very heart of the gospel, make the great work of theology all the more indispensable. In order for the Church to continue proclaiming the central message of the gospel to men and women today, in order that the gospel may truly reach the people personally and in order that this message may permeate society in all its dimensions, the task of theology is indispensable, with your efforts to rethink the great themes of Christian faith within a culture that has been profoundly changed.
We need a theology that helps all Christians to proclaim and to demonstrate, above all, the salvific face of God, the merciful God, especially in the face of some unprecedented challenges involving humanity today: such as the ecological crisis, the crisis of development of neurosciences or of technologies that can change humans; like that of the ever-greater social inequalities or migrations of entire peoples; like theoretical relativism but also practical relativism. This is why there is a need for theology that, in keeping with the best traditions of the Italian Theological Association, is provided by Christians who are not only considering talking among themselves, but who know that they are at the service of various particular Churches and of the universal Church; and theology that is provided by those who are also willing to take on the task of rethinking the Church so that she can conform to the gospel that she must proclaim.
I am pleased to know that many times and in various ways, even in recent times, you have already done this: explicitly addressing the theme of proclaiming the gospel and the forma Ecclesiae, of synodality, of the ecclesial presence in the context of the laity and democracy, and power within the Church. Therefore, I hope that your research may nourish and enrich all the people of God. And I want to add a few thoughts that came to me while you were speaking. Do not lose the capacity for wonder; do theology within the context of wonder. Wonder that leads us to Christ, the encounter with Christ. It is like air in which our reflection can be more fruitful. And I also repeat another thing that I have said to you: the theologian is one who studies, thinks, reflects, but he does this on his knees. Do theology on your knees, like the great Fathers of the Church. The great Fathers who used to think, pray, adore, praise: strong theology, which is fundamental to all Christian theological development. And I also repeat a third thing that I have said here, but I want to repeat it because it is important: do theology in the Church, which is to say within the faithful people of God who have - I will say it with a non-theological word - who have a nose for faith. I remember, once, in confession, a dialogue that I had with an elderly Portuguese woman who was accusing herself of sins that do not exist, but she was such a deep believer! I asked her a few questions and she replied well; in the end, I wanted to say: But, tell me madam: have you studied at the Gregorian university? She was truly a simple woman, simple, but she had a nose, she had the sensus fidei, that part of faith that can never be wrong.
With all my heart, I grant you my blessing, and please, don't forget to pray for me.
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