Pope Francis to the Pontifical Committee of Historical Sciences
April 12,2014: Receiving members of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences
on Saturday, Pope Francis reflected on history as a life’s teacher and historians
as people who can help us discern what the Holy Spirit wants to say to the Church
today. He also commended their initiatives to mark the centenary of the outbreak of
the Great War. Speaking to participants in the Committee’s Plenary Assembly he
noted: “In your studies and in your teaching, you are particularly faced with the
vicissitudes of the Churches’ journeys through time, with its glorious history of
evangelization, of hopes and daily struggles, of lives spent in service and fidelity
to work, (cf. Evangelii gaudium , 96) , as well as infidelity, of denials and of sins.
Your research, marked by both a genuine passion for the Church and sincere love for
the truth , can be of great help to those who have the task of discerning what the
Holy Spirit wants to say to the Church today”. He noted: “In your encounter and
collaboration with researchers of every culture and religion, you can offer a specific
contribution to the dialogue between the Church and the modern world”. Among the
committee’s planned events, the Holy Father pointed to an International Conference
marking the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. “It pays special attention
to the Holy See’s diplomatic efforts during the tragic conflict and the contribution
made by Catholics and other Christians to rescue the wounded, refugees, orphans and
widows, to search for the missing, as well as in the reconstruction of a world torn
apart. by what Benedict XV called "useless slaughter".