Pope urges Catholic Universities to focus on the human dimension

Pope Benedict greeted students and staff from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart on Saturday following the celebration of the Eucharist presided over by the Cardinal Archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi in Saint Peter’s Basilica.

In his remarks to those gathered in the Paul the VI hall in the Vatican, the Holy Father said that the times we live in are full of great and rapid changes, which he also said were reflected in University life.

The Pope went on to say that humanities subjects seem to be affected by “progressive deterioration” which in turn leads to a reduction in the level of the human horizon.

Contemporary culture continued the Pope Benedict, “then tends to confine religion out of rationality to the extent that the empirical sciences monopolize territories.”

Underlining the 90^th Anniversary of the Catholic University of Sacred Heart’s founding, the Holy Father said this institution of higher learning was at an historical turning point and he stressed the need for it to reinforce its Catholic heritage, a heritage he added, that was steeped in an authentic humanism.

The Catholic university, noted Pope Benedict, “is called to be a place of excellence that has a openness to knowledge, a passion for truth, and an interest in the history of man that characterizes authentic Christian spirituality.

In his concluding comments the Holy Father, said Catholic university students
were “living proof of a character of faith that changes lives and saves the world”. Listen