Christian Humanism

Pope John Paul II, Dec. 11, 2002

"5. The role of universities is to train men and women in the different disciplines, taking care to show the profound structural connection between faith and reason, "the two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth". It should not be forgotten that a true education ought to present a complete and transcendent vision of the human person and educate people's consciences. I am aware of your efforts, in teaching the secular disciplines, to transmit to your students a Christian humanism and to present to them in their university curriculum the basic elements of philosophy, bioethics and theology; this will confirm their faith and inform their consciences."

"Faith and reason", Pope John Paul II

"33. Step by step, then, we are assembling the terms of the question. It is the nature of the human being to seek the truth. This search looks not only to the attainment of truths which are partial, empirical or scientific; nor is it only in individual acts of decision-making that people seek the true good. Their search looks towards an ulterior truth which would explain the meaning of life. And it is therefore a search which can reach its end only in reaching the absolute. Thanks to the inherent capacities of thought, man is able to encounter and recognize a truth of this kind. Such a truth—vital and necessary as it is for life—is attained not only by way of reason but also through trusting acquiescence to other persons who can guarantee the authenticity and certainty of the truth itself. There is no doubt that the capacity to entrust oneself and one's life to another person and the decision to do so are among the most significant and expressive human acts."


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