Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

Requiescat in pace

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI passed away on New Years Eve. I first saw him in person during his visit to Catholic University in April of 2008, when he presented his “Address to Educators” in the Great Room of the Pryzbyla Center.

In memory of this great pope, I would like to share some extracts from that Address. They were the ones that most struck me when I first heard them, and almost 15 years later their wisdom continues to inspire me.

“First and foremost every Catholic educational institution is a place to encounter the living God who in Jesus Christ reveals his transforming love and truth.”

“A university or school’s Catholic identity is not simply a question of the number of Catholic students. It is a question of conviction – do we really believe that only in the mystery of the Word made flesh does the mystery of man truly become clear (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 22)? Are we ready to commit our entire self – intellect and will, mind and heart – to God?”

“Yet we all know, and observe with concern, the difficulty or reluctance many people have today in entrusting themselves to God. It is a complex phenomenon and one which I ponder continually. While we have sought diligently to engage the intellect of our young, perhaps we have neglected the will.”

Catholic education cannot be “equated simply with orthodoxy of course content. It demands and inspires much more: namely that each and every aspect of your learning communities reverberates within the ecclesial life of faith.”

“When nothing beyond the individual is recognized as definitive, the ultimate criterion of judgment becomes the self and the satisfaction of the individual’s immediate wishes.”

“‘[I]ntellectual charity … calls the educator to recognize that the profound responsibility to lead the young to truth is nothing less than an act of love. … [This] upholds the essential unity of knowledge against the fragmentation which ensues when reason is detached from the pursuit of truth. It guides the young towards the deep satisfaction of exercising freedom in relation to truth, and it strives to articulate the relationship between faith and all aspects of family and civic life.”

“I wish to reaffirm the great value of academic freedom. In virtue of this freedom you are called to search for the truth wherever careful analysis of evidence leads you. Yet it is also the case that any appeal to the principle of academic freedom in order to justify positions that contradict the faith and the teaching of the Church would obstruct or esven betray the university's identity and mission.”

Some years after his visit to Catholic University, I had the pleasure of meeting Pope Benedict in person in Rome.