Pope Francis sends message to mark Public Session of Pontifical Academies

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis sent a message today addressed to Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi to mark the 18th Public Session of the Pontifical Academies. The Cardinal is the President of the Pontifical Council for Culture and of the Coordination Council for the Pontifical Academies that are discussing the theme, “Oculate fides. Reading the truth with the eyes of Christ.”

In his message, the Pope spoke about the luminous dimension of faith and the connection between faith and truth. He said nowadays truth is often reduced to a subjective authenticity of the individual that only applies to an individual life. A communal truth, the Pope continues, frightens us because we identify it with the intransigent demands of totalitarianism. He said, if on the other hand, this truth is the truth of love then we are freed from the closing up of the individual and can be part of the common good.