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VATICAN CITY, (Zenit.org) - With the human ability to think under fire from relativism, priests and theologians need to study more philosophy, the Vatican says.This was one of the main points of the “Decree on the Reform of Ecclesiastical Studies of Philosophy,” which Benedict XVI approved Jan. 28 (the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas), and Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, presented Tuesday.
The cardinal explained that the Church is always adapting to respond to the needs of changing historical-cultural circumstances, and that many ecclesial institutions today are lacking in philosophical formation.
This absence is particularly noteworthy at a time “in which reason itself is menaced by utilitarianism, skepticism, relativism and distrust of reason’s ability to know the truth regarding the fundamental problems of life,” he reflected.
New guidelines are in accordance with Pope John Paul II’s “Fides et Ratio,” the cardinal added, which notes that “theology has always had and continues to have need of a philosophical contribution.”
Deep questions
Cardinal Grocholewski said the Church intends to recover metaphysics, namely a philosophy that will again pose the most profound questions of the human being.
The Vatican official stressed that technology and science cannot “satiate man’s thirst in regard to the ultimate questions: What does happiness consist of? Who am I? Is the world the fruit of chance? What is my destiny? etc. Today, more than ever, the sciences are in need of wisdom.”
He said that the “original vocation” of philosophy needs to be recovered: “the search for truth and its sapiential and metaphysical dimension.”
The cardinal also emphasized the importance of logic, calling it a discipline that structures reason and that has disappeared because of the present crisis of Christian culture.
No contradiction
The rector of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), Dominican Father Charles Morerod, added that there is no contradiction between philosophy and faith.
“Christianity presupposes a harmony between God and human reason,” he said.
catholic.org/college/story.php?id=40796
Hooray for philosophy!
In other words: Get thee to a philosophy class!
The cardinal explained that the Church is always adapting to respond to the needs of changing historical-cultural circumstances, and that many ecclesial institutions today are lacking in philosophical formation.
This absence is particularly noteworthy at a time “in which reason itself is menaced by utilitarianism, skepticism, relativism and distrust of reason’s ability to know the truth regarding the fundamental problems of life,” he reflected.
New guidelines are in accordance with Pope John Paul II’s “Fides et Ratio,” the cardinal added, which notes that “theology has always had and continues to have need of a philosophical contribution.”
Deep questions
Cardinal Grocholewski said the Church intends to recover metaphysics, namely a philosophy that will again pose the most profound questions of the human being.
The Vatican official stressed that technology and science cannot “satiate man’s thirst in regard to the ultimate questions: What does happiness consist of? Who am I? Is the world the fruit of chance? What is my destiny? etc. Today, more than ever, the sciences are in need of wisdom.”
He said that the “original vocation” of philosophy needs to be recovered: “the search for truth and its sapiential and metaphysical dimension.”
The cardinal also emphasized the importance of logic, calling it a discipline that structures reason and that has disappeared because of the present crisis of Christian culture.
No contradiction
The rector of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), Dominican Father Charles Morerod, added that there is no contradiction between philosophy and faith.
“Christianity presupposes a harmony between God and human reason,” he said.
catholic.org/college/story.php?id=40796
Hooray for philosophy!
In other words: Get thee to a philosophy class!
