Weekly editorial of Fr Lombardi, SJ: intelligence, faith and love

Below, please find the full text in English of the weekly editorial of the Director of the Press Office of the Holy See, Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ.

Intelligence, Faith and Love

”Without love, science loses its nobility. Only love guarantees the humanity of scientific research.” In this way, Pope Benedict XVI concluded his speech Thursday morning at the Faculty of Medicine at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome. It was a profound and poignant response to a widely felt need for solid and inspiring guidance.

”With a wealth of technical means at his disposal - and almost dazzled by their effectiveness - though rather wanting in real direction toward authentic goods, humanity today risks losing sight of the fundamental horizon of the question of meaning.” Once again, the Pope speaks of confidence in intelligence, of trust in reason; he speaks of Christianity as a “religion of the Logos,” which does not relegate faith to the realm of the irrational, but rather sees the origin and meaning of reality in the whole “creative reason”. The union of reason and faith is a guarantee of the fertility of each, while their separation leads to a “an impoverishment of ethics,” that makes it impossible to assess whether what is technically possible is morally good – whether it leads to the authentic human good.

The Pope said even more, however, for science and medical research are so directly related to the care of the human person, that in them it becomes particularly evident how truly necessary is the guidance of love, how truly essential is the link between commitment to the advancement of human knowledge and passionate dedication to the good of man – a creature who suffers and is confronted with the most radical questions about the meaning of life. “The dedication of the intelligence and of the heart,” therefore, “becomes a sign of God's mercy and His victory over death.”

What stronger, more thrilling inspiration is there for every effort of the mind in favor of humanity? At the end of the day: toward what else ought human intelligence dedicate itself?