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The World Seen From Rome
Daily dispatch - June 10, 2009
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VATICAN DOSSIER No Authority Without Truth, Says Pontiff Pontiff Offers a Way to Grow in Love for Jesus WORLD FEATURES Bishops Urged to Address Social Justice Issues Irish Prelates Reiterate Shame Over Abuse Church Being Given Chance to Rediscover Priesthood NEWS BRIEFS England and Wales Mission Society Gets New Name Spain Readies for Arrival of 1.5 Million Youth WORDS MADE FLESH Food and Drink for the Journey WEDNESDAY'S AUDIENCE On John Scotus Erigena
VATICAN DOSSIER
No Authority Without Truth, Says Pontiff
Affirms That Faith and Reason Must Agree
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 10, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Since faith and reason come from the same source -- divine wisdom -- authority should never contradict truth, according to Benedict XVI.
The Pope spoke of the perfect coincidence of faith and reason and its consequences for authority today during the general audience in St. Peter's Square, which was decorated with colorful flowers in anticipation of Thursday's feast of Corpus Christi. The Holy Father focused his address to the some 15,000 pilgrims on John Scotus Erigena.
He said the writings of the 9th century thinker "could bring about interesting developments even for contemporary theologians."
The Pontiff particularly considered Erigena's teaching on authority. He explained that "we cannot speak of God starting from our inventions, but rather from what God himself says about himself in sacred Scripture. Given that God only speaks the truth, Scotus Erigena is convinced that authority and reason should never be in contraposition one against the other. He is convinced that true religion and true philosophy coincide."
According to this author, the Pope continued, not even Scripture is exempt from this discernment.
He explained: "In fact Scripture, affirms the Irish theologian […] would not have been necessary if man had not sinned. Therefore, it must be deduced that Scripture was given by God with a pedagogical intention and lowering himself so that man could recall all that had been stamped on his heart from the moment of his creation 'in the image and likeness of God' and that the original fall had made him forget."
Thus, "sacred Scripture purifies our rather blind reason and helps us to return to the memory of what we, as image of God, carry in our hearts, unfortunately violated by sin," Benedict XVI said.
Speechless
Noting how Erigena spoke of the "divinization" of man through the "adoring and silent recognition" of the mystery of God, the Pope illustrated how the author's works are "the clearest demonstration of the attempt to express the explainable of the inexplicableness of God."
"The numerous metaphors used by him to indicate this ineffable reality show up to what point he is aware of the absolute incapacity of the terms with which we speak of these things," the Holy Father said, "And, nevertheless, there remains this enchantment and this atmosphere of authentic mystical experience in his texts that sometimes can almost be tangibly felt."
He offered by way of example one of Erigena's writings: "The only thing that must be desired," he wrote, "is the joy of the truth, which is Christ, and the only thing that must be avoided is the absence of him. It should be considered that this [absence] is the only cause of total and eternal sadness. Take Christ from me and no good whatsoever remains for me; there is nothing that terrifies me as much as his absence. The worst torment of a rational creature is the privation and the absence of him."
"These are words that we can make our own," the Bishop of Rome concluded, "converting them into a prayer to him who also is the longing of our hearts."
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Pontiff Offers a Way to Grow in Love for Jesus
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 10, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- This week's feast of Corpus Christi is a chance to grow in love for Jesus in the Eucharist, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope spoke today of the upcoming feast -- celebrated Thursday in the Vatican and in many other countries -- when he gave his traditional greeting to the sick, the young and newlyweds before concluding the general audience in St. Peter's Square.
"The feast of Corpus Christi, which we celebrate tomorrow, offers us the occasion to go deeper in our faith and in our love for the Eucharist," he said.
The Holy Father will preside over a Mass in the Basilica of St. John Lateran and then process with the Eucharist to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, where he will give benediction.
The Pontiff addressed youth and children who have just made their first Communion to express his hope that "the sacrament of the Body and the Blood of Christ would be the spiritual nourishment of each day to move forward along the path to sanctity."
He presented the Eucharist to the sick as their "support and consolation in trials and in suffering."
And the Pope expressed his wish for newlyweds that the Eucharist be "the deep motive for your love that is expressed in your daily actions."
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WORLD FEATURES
Bishops Urged to Address Social Justice Issues
Cardinal Underlines Need for Lay-Clergy Cooperation
ZAGREB, Croatia, JUNE 10, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Involvement in issues of justice and peace is a necessary task of evangelization, according to the archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary.
Cardinal Peter Erdö affirmed this Tuesday at a meeting of the bishops in charge of social issues in Europe, which ended today in Zagreb.
In his conference titled "Justice and Peace in the Mission of the Bishop, the Bishops' Conferences and the Council of European Bishops' Conferences," he affirmed the Church's commitment to work for the good of the human person.
The cardinal stated, "Moved by love and looking for the true good of the human person, created in the image and likeness of God, both in her oneness and her nature intended for communion, the Church sees politics and everything that concerns social life as an integral part of her service of God and, in the name of God, of humanity."
He added, "In fact the human person cannot be divided: the different human capabilities are part of the one organic reality of the person."
"Questions about justice and peace belong intrinsically to the Church's mission," Cardinal Erdö affirmed, and the "attempt to separate the pastoral mission or evangelization from social problems would represent a serious error."
He asserted that "all our action in defence of justice and peace, precisely because it is immersed in the love of God, binds everyone, but particularly us bishops."
Spiritual fatherhood
The cardinal explained: "Since we are invested with a spiritual fatherhood, the destiny and life of all, but especially of those who suffer most or who have been abandoned, have to all intents and purposes been entrusted to us.
"Whether it is the poor, children, those already born or those still in their mother's womb, women exploited or abandoned, families in difficulties, the elderly who are ill or often alone, the unemployed, those who have been forced to flee their own country because of war or who have been left with nothing as a consequence of natural disasters; in short, all those who suffer constitute the object of particular care on the part of the Church and, consequently, of pastors."
Therefore, he said, "authentic development, which takes account of the good of every person in his integrity and the building up of a just and united society […]" is "intimately related to the proclamation of the Gospel and, consequently, to our mission as pastors."
Cardinal Erdö noted that social justice "can and must be continually refined and animated by that strength of love which comes from God and which we call charity and which goes far beyond the simple balance of powers or a distributive justice."
He continued: "On the one hand, the bishop is guarantor of the Church's doctrine and morals, and on the other he is well aware of not being able to act in isolation.
"Only a task developed along with well-informed people, lay and priests, and a task networked between various ecclesial, but also civil institutions, will allow the Church, as much at a national as continental level, to exercise a positive influence on decision-makers at a political level and reach practical people.
"Lay people and priests who, according to these methods, actively participate in the mission of the Church, rightly need our episcopal backing and support, so as not to run the risk of devoting themselves so much to erroneous ideas."
The prelate underlined the importance of being "able to discern good from evil" so as to be "authentic prophets of justice."
Also, he added, we must be able to "understand how to intervene in a way that our message may be effective and reflect the Word of God and his love."
The cardinal acknowledged that the Justice and Peace Commissions have emerged so that the Church, while "manifesting its hierarchical communion, may be able to intervene in an effective and specific way in social and political life."
He underlined four principles necessary for their mission, based on the Church's social doctrine: "the wholeness of the human person, solidarity and charity as methods, subsidiarity experienced as respect for the concrete realities with the aim of preventing ideological manipulation, and the common good as the objective of every action."
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Irish Prelates Reiterate Shame Over Abuse
Summer Meeting Takes Up Ryan Report
MAYNOOTH, Ireland, JUNE 10, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- The bishops of Ireland are saying they are "ashamed, humbled and repentant that our people strayed so far from their Christian ideals," in response to the May 20 Ryan Report that detailed widespread abuse in Catholic schools.
The bishops affirmed this today at a press conference after the conclusion of their Summer General Meeting.
The first topics under discussion at the meeting were the Ryan Report (so-called because of the head of the commission that published it, Justice Sean Ryan) and the meeting of Cardinal Sean Brady and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin with the Pope to discuss the report.
"The Ryan Report represents the most recent disturbing indictment of a culture that was prevalent in the Catholic Church in Ireland for far too long," a statement from the bishops' conference reported. "Heinous crimes were perpetrated against the most innocent and vulnerable, and vile acts with life-lasting effects were carried out under the guise of the mission of Jesus Christ.
"This abuse represents a serious betrayal of the trust which was placed in the Church. For this we ask forgiveness. We are ashamed, humbled and repentant that our people strayed so far from their Christian ideals."
The bishops' called for more time to reflect on the details of the report, but offered a four-point "initial response": "Our first reaction is a heavy sadness at the suffering of so many for so long; we wish to invite survivors to engage with us to see how we can assist those who have been abused; we wish to respond as pastors despite the inadequacies at times of our previous pastoral responses; we urge the whole Church community to join with us in praying for the well being and peace of mind for all who suffered."
At the Vatican
The prelates also discussed the Pope's meeting Friday with Cardinal Brady and Archbishop Martin.
"The Holy Father once again urged the bishops and all in the Church to continue to establish the truth of what happened and why; to ensure that justice is done for all; to see that measures put in place to prevent abuse from happening again are fully applied, and, to help to bring healing to the survivors of abuse," they said.
In addition to the Pontiff, the Irish prelates met with the heads of six congregations of the Roman Curia, as well as the secretariat of state.
God's people
The Summer General Meeting also included a look at the 2012 International Eucharistic Congress to be held in Dublin.
Archbishop Piero Marini, president of the Pontifical Committee for the International Eucharistic Congresses, addressed the meeting participants. The bishops' statement noted how he reminded them that the congress "is not a privilege bestowed on Dublin but a service to the continuing journey of God’s people."
They added: "Archbishop Marini emphasized that 'the Congress is not restricted to its closing week, but is concretely expressed throughout at least a two-year journey of preparation … so that the people of God can draw ever closer to an authentic appreciation of the Sacrament given for the life of the world.'"
In addition to other issues, the Irish prelates also noted with concern the drop in government aid for foreign charity work.
"Government aid has decreased by 22% since July 2008," they lamented. "This decrease is small in terms of its impact on the deficit in Ireland’s national budget, but it is significant in terms of its impact for the developing world and for the mission of Trócaire [the Church’s overseas aid agency]."
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Church Being Given Chance to Rediscover Priesthood
US Bishops' Leader Reflects on Heart of Ministry
CHICAGO, JUNE 10, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Though the priesthood has recently undergone a "purification," the Church is being given an opportunity to rediscover what its all about, says the president of the U.S. episcopal conference.
Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of Chicago, affirmed this in his column this week for the archdiocesan newspaper, Catholic New World. He dedicated the article to the Year for Priests, called by Benedict XVI for June 19 - June 11, 2010.
Noting some of the problems facing the world -- issues ranging from home foreclosures, to nuclear disarmament, to domestic violence -- the cardinal affirmed: "What strikes me is that these issues, like all issues in the Church, can’t move forward without attention from our priests."
He noted that the Holy Father's proclamation of a Year for Priests is "to help all of us revisit what the faith tells us a priest is and to encourage ordained priests in their lives of service and dedication."
Cardinal George announced that the U.S. episcopal conference is offering resources for the year, including a prayer available in English and Spanish.
Essentials
Then, the Chicago archbishop illustrated his reflection by recounting the conversations he recently had with a prelate from Cuba.
The episcopal conference president recalled: "[The Cuban bishop] told me that less than 2% of Cubans practice their religion, partially because of the scarcity of churches but also because of the atheist propaganda and because one is penalized for practicing the faith by being excluded from professions like teaching or the practice of law.
"Nevertheless, about 55% of Cubans still baptize their children and many still visit the national shrine on special occasions, even though the Church is without schools, youth groups, charitable organizations, regular means of communication and the institutions that are taken for granted as part of Church life here."
Cardinal George noted how until the visit of Pope John Paul II just over 10 years ago, the government limited the number of priests on the island to 200.
"If a bishop wanted to ordain a priest, he had to wait until another priest died," the cardinal explained.
He added: "The bishop told me that he began two new parishes last year. What does it mean to start a parish in Cuba? After years of personal formation, each of two newly ordained priests was sent into a neighborhood and told to begin gathering people to listen to the Gospel and to celebrate Mass and the other sacraments when and where he could.
"The parishes would probably never have a church building or anything else we would regard as normal and necessary. They would have only what the Church had at Pentecost: Faith in the risen Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the ministry of the apostles and those appointed by them to love and govern the people in Christ’s name."
The cardinal concluded his reflection acknowledging that "[r]ecent years have been hard on the priesthood, as it has undergone what Pope John Paul II called a 'purification.'"
"Perhaps, however," he said, "this Year of the Priest will be the occasion to discover again what priesthood really is and to support the overwhelming majority of faithful priests here and throughout the country."
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On the Net:
U.S. bishops' conference Year for Priests resources:
www.usccb.org/yearforpriests/index.shtmlComplete text of Cardinal George's column:
www.catholicnewworld.com/cnwonline/2009/0607/cardinal.aspx
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NEWS BRIEFS
England and Wales Mission Society Gets New Name
"Missio" Underlines Unity With Other Countries
LONDON, JUNE 10, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- The Church in England and Wales is rebranding its national chapter of the Pontifical Mission Societies, re-launching it under a new name, "Missio," in September.
The change was announced Tuesday after a Mass celebrated by the apostolic nuncio to Great Britain, Archbishop Faustino Sainz Muñoz, at the London headquarters of the mission society.
A press release from the organization reported today that the new name "symbolizes unity in faith and mission."
Monsignor John Dale, national director for Missio, explained, "As a symbol of unity in faith and mission, several of the European offices have chosen to share a single name, Missio, a word that is simple and easily recognizable in many languages."
He added, "Missio, from the Latin 'sending out,' also expresses commitment to the God-given mission of the Church."
The organization oversees assistance given to 1,069 mission dioceses worldwide through the collection of donations and support for specific needs, including 194,855 schools, 5,246 hospitals, 17,530 dispensaries, 577 leprosy centers and 80,560 other social and pastoral projects.
Funds are collected in the dioceses and then sent directly to the bishops of the mission territories.
The press statement from the agency affirmed that "despite the name change, its mission remains unchanged."
Monsignor Dale said, "This change of name, which will be adopted in September, has been approved and welcomed by the bishops of England and Wales.
"Its logo shows the Cross at the center of its service to the Gospel. The new motto 'Sharing Faith, Giving Life' expresses Missio's vital commitment to serving the Church, especially where the Church is young or poor."
On last year's World Mission Sunday, Benedict XVI expressed appreciation for the work of the organization, stating: "I cannot fail to point out with sincere appreciation the contribution of the Pontifical Mission Societies to the Church's evangelizing activity.
"I thank them for the support they offer to all the communities, especially the young ones. They are a valid instrument for animating and forming the People of God from a missionary viewpoint, and they nurture the communion of persons and goods between the different parts of the Mystical Body of Christ."
The Pontifical Mission Societies, claiming members in many countries, have the goal of nurturing younger Churches worldwide until they are self-sufficient, with their own indigenous priests, religious and laity.
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On the Net:
Mission in England and Wales:
www.missio.org.uk
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Spain Readies for Arrival of 1.5 Million Youth
Ambassador Notes Cooperation of Church and Government
ROME, JUNE 10, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- The Spanish ambassador to the Holy See, Francisco Vázquez Vázquez, reported that the country's government is actively supporting the organizational effort of the World Youth Day scheduled for August 2011.
In a press conference Tuesday at the embassy, Vázquez noted that the government led by Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has begun to mobilize for the event that will draw worldwide youth to Madrid.
The ambassador reported that last week there was an organizational meeting between the Spanish vice president, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, and the archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela.
Vázquez, former senator and president of the Spanish Federation of Municipals and Provinces, explained that the Spanish government named a representative for the coordination of the event's organizational aspects.
He noted that the country is planning for the participation of 1.5 million young people from all continents, which, he said, gives the youth day more than just a spiritual significance.
The ambassador affirmed that certain differences between Zapatero's government and the leaders of the Catholic Church, such as the current debate over abortion, should not affect the organization of this event. He also noted that the youth day will be preceded by several other gatherings of young people in different Spanish dioceses.
"It will be very important," he stated.
Vázquez, who has been the ambassador to the Holy See for three years, is currently overseeing the collection of useful information about previous youth days.
He expressed a speculation that "the Pope may travel to Santiago de Compostela," a popular European pilgrimage site, on this visit, given that the Pontiff "is a great Europeanist."
He explained that Benedict XVI had personally expressed the desire to visit the tomb of the Apostle, St. James, when the ambassador met him in audience.
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WORDS MADE FLESH
Food and Drink for the Journey
Biblical Reflection for the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ
By Father Thomas Rosica, CSB
TORONTO, JUNE 10, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Today's Gospel [Mark 14.12-16,22-26] links Jesus' death with Israel's great feast of liberation, the Passover.
At the first Passover, the blood on the doorpost prevented the death of the firstborn. The bread broken at the Last Supper symbolizes the disciples' sharing in Jesus' self-offering. Drinking from the cup of his blood creates a new and dynamic common bond. Jesus' blood sanctifies and revitalizes each of us. The Eucharist has something that distinguishes it from every other kind of memorial. It is memorial and presence together, even if hidden under the signs of bread and wine.
Our Eucharistic Liturgy proclaims the one bond of life between God and his people. Just as blood that flows outward from the heart unites all the bodily members in one flow of life, so too are we united intimately with God through the precious body and blood of Jesus. The very nature of the Eucharist implies a bond with God and with the community. Our destinies are intertwined with God's own life. We cannot be loners, for blood is a common bond.
As we celebrate the solemnity of the Body and Blood of the Lord this year, we realize two things: this feast is a daily one. Yet we set aside one day in the year to celebrate a feast of those feasts which we celebrate every day. Not only do we celebrate the bread and wine which become the body and blood of the Lord, we celebrate the new identity given to those who share among them Jesus' body and blood and then become what they eat and drink.
Faith in Jesus' resurrection can itself be an unproductive or dangerous ideology if it does not stimulate us actually to share bread with our brothers and sisters who are hungry. We are not engaging in social and political action but in sacramental celebration, a memorial or commemoration: the recollection of Jesus' life and death, in the conviction of faith of his resurrection as Lord, sitting in God's place of honor as the advocate of poor and oppressed people who have no bread. When we receive the Eucharist, we partake of the one who becomes food and drink for others. Each time we celebrate the Eucharist, do we realize that the Eucharistic Christ is really present as bread for the poor?
Christianity, Catholicism, the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, are not theological concepts, courses, things, ideas, passing fancies, symbols -- they are a living person and his name is Jesus.
Quebec's Eucharistic congress
At many moments of crisis and turbulence in Christian history, the Lord confirmed his real presence in the Blessed Sacrament in some rather miraculous ways. Most of these Eucharistic miracles involved incidences in which the Host has "turned into human flesh and blood." The miracles in Bolsena and Orvieto in Italy quickly come to mind, and there is, of course, the well known Eucharistic miracle story from Lanciano, Italy. Such stories seem to be far removed from our own experiences, and are often times quite hard to believe. In recent times such miracle stories have receded from the front burners of contemporary theology and spirituality and are often relegated to the realm of eccentric piety and devotion.
As Catholics we believe that the consecrated Host is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our Lord, under the appearances of bread and wine. Therefore, Jesus, through the Eucharistic miracles, merely manifests his presence in a more tangible way. Some tell us that we don't really need the extraordinary manifestations to confirm what we already know and believe. They say that extraordinary miracles are not the essence of true Eucharistic piety, devotion and understanding.
I would like to reflect on am extraordinary Eucharistic event that deeply marked the Church in Canada and touched many parts of the world as well.
For one week last June 15-22, 2008, I rediscovered what extraordinary Eucharistic miracles are all about, only this time it wasn't in churches of old Europe. Along with 15,000 other people from throughout Canada and 75 other countries of the world, I saw the Eucharist come alive in a very powerful way in a hockey arena in Quebec City's Pepsi Coliseum during the 49th International Eucharistic Congress.
In his homily for the opening of the congress, the 84-year-old Slovakian Cardinal Jozef Tomko, papal legate to the event, said that "Jesus is the gift of God, he is the food that feeds us and fulfills us and allows us life in eternity. The Eucharist is a person, not an object, not a dead gift. Maybe we should ask not what is the Eucharist, but who is the Eucharist?" The answer to this question, Tomko said, is Jesus in the sacramental form of bread and wine "to indicate he wanted to become our food and sustain our life."
One of the very memorable and profound catechesis sessions of the Quebec congress was on the theme "The Eucharist, the life of Christ in our Lives" given by Bishop Louis Tagle of Imus in the Philippines. Bishop Tagle spoke about Eucharistic adoration outside of Mass: "Beholding Jesus, we receive and are transformed by the mystery we adore. Eucharistic adoration is similar to standing at the foot of the cross of Jesus, being a witness to his sacrifice of life and being renewed by it."
Bishop Tagle pointed to the example of the Roman centurion who guarded Jesus on the cross as a "model of adoration." "We learn from the centurion to face Jesus, to keep watch over him, to behold him, to contemplate him. At first the centurion spent hours watching over Jesus out of duty but ended up contemplating him in truth. What did the centurion see? We can assume that he saw the horror of suffering that preceded Jesus' death. But I also believe that in Jesus the centurion saw incredible love, love for the God who had failed to remove this cup of suffering from him, and love for neighbors."
The prelate concluded his powerful catechesis: "I wish that Eucharistic adoration would lead us to know Jesus more as the compassionate companion of many crucified peoples of today. Let us adore Jesus who offered his life as a gift to the Father for us sinners. Let us adore him for ourselves, for the poor, for the earth, for the Church and for the life of the world."
One day during the congress in Quebec, the daily rainfall compelled me to take a taxi to the Pepsi Coliseum. The young driver, an Algerian Muslim man, asked me from where I came and then spoke to me about the congress, having encountered so many of the delegates on the streets of Quebec City. When he learned that I was from English-speaking Canada, he lit up! "What are they giving you people to eat these days?" he asked me. I looked puzzled and asked him to explain and he did so in impeccable English! He said: "I have never seen so many happy people in Quebec City since I emigrated here 10 years ago. There has to something in the food and drink. It must be awesome!”
Quebec's Eucharistic Congress was a privileged opportunity for Canada to re-actualize the historic and cultural patrimony of holiness and social engagement of the Church that draws its roots from the Eucharistic mystery.
In his 2003 encyclical letter "Ecclesia de Eucharistia" Pope John Paul II wrote: "The Eucharist builds the Church and the Church makes the Eucharist." The International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec City did just that one year ago.
[The readings for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ are Exodus 24:3-8; Hebrew 9:11-15; and Mark 14:12-16, 22-26]
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Basilian Father Thomas Rosica, chief executive officer of the Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation and Television Network in Canada, is a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. He can be reached at: rosica@saltandlighttv.org.
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On the Net:
Salt and Light Catholic Television Network Web site:
www.saltandlighttv.orgFeast of Corpus Christi:
www.saltandlighttv.org/prog_slprog_snl_presents_easter_video8.htmlFeast of Corpus Christi on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX4S7UdqieM&feature=related2008 International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec City:
www.cei2008.ca/en
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Wednesday's Audience
On John Scotus Erigena
"His Theology Proceeds … by Asserting Primarily What God Is Not"
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 10, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today at the general audience in St. Peter's Square, part of a catechetical series he is giving about great writers of the Church in the Middle Ages.
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Dear brothers and sisters:
Today I would like to speak of a notable thinker of the Christian West: John Scotus Erigena, whose origins are obscure. He certainly came from Ireland, where he was born at the beginning of the 9th century, but we don't know when he left his island to cross the English Channel and thus fully become a part of that cultural world that was being reborn around the Carolingians, and in particular, around Charles the Bald, in France of the 9th century. Just as we don't know the exact date of his birth, we also do not know that of his death, which according to the experts, must have been around the year 870.
John Scotus Erigena had a firsthand patristic culture, as much Greek as Latin: He directly knew the writings of the Latin and Greek fathers. He knew well, among others, the works of Augustine, Ambrose, Gregory the Great, great fathers of the Christian West; but he also knew the thought of Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, John Chrysostom, and other fathers, no less important, of the East. It was an exceptional man who in that epoch also dominated Greek. He showed particular attention to St. Maximus the Confessor, and above all, to Dionysius the Areopagite. Under this pseudonym is hidden an ecclesiastical writer of the 5th century from Syria, but like everyone in the Middle Ages, John Scotus Erigena was convinced that this author was a direct disciple of St. Paul, spoken of in the Acts of the Apostles (17:34).
Scotus Erigena, convinced of the apostolicity of the writings of Dionysius, classified him as "divine author" par excellence; his writings were, therefore, an eminent source for his thought. John Scotus translated his works to Latin. The great medieval theologians, such as St. Bonaventure, got to know the works of Dionysius by way of this translation. He was dedicated during his whole life to going deeper into and developing his thought, paying recourse to these writings, to the point that still today, sometimes it can be difficult to distinguish when we find the thought of Scotus Erigena and when he is doing nothing more than presenting the thought of Pseudo Dionysius.
In truth, the theological work of John Scotus did not have much success. The end of the Carolingian era brought about the forgetting of his works, and a censure on the part of the ecclesiastical authority cast a shadow over his person. In truth, John Scotus represents a radical Platonism, which on occasions seems to approach a pantheistic vision, even if his personal subjective intentions were always orthodox. Some of the works of John Scotus Erigena are still in existence today, among which the treatises "On the Division of Nature" and "Expositions on the Celestial Hierarchy of St. Dionysius" deserve to be particularly mentioned.
In them, he develops stimulating theological and spiritual reflections, which could bring about interesting developments, even for contemporary theologians. I refer, for example, to what he writes on the duty to exercise an appropriate discernment about that which is presented as "auctoritas vera," or on the commitment to continue seeking the truth as long as an experience of the silent adoration of God is not attained.
Our author says: "Salus nostra ex fide inchoat: Our salvation begins with faith." That is, we cannot speak of God starting from our inventions, but rather from what God himself says about himself in sacred Scripture. Given that God only speaks the truth, Scotus Erigena is convinced that authority and reason should never be in contraposition one against the other. He is convinced that true religion and true philosophy coincide.
From this perspective, he writes: "Any type of authority that is not confirmed by true reason should be considered weak. … Only that authority is true that coincides with the truth discovered in virtue of reason, even if it is an authority recommended and transmitted for the usefulness of coming generations by the holy fathers" (I, PL 122, col 513BC). Thus he cautions, "May no authority frighten you or distract you from what you understand from the persuasion obtained thanks to an upright rational contemplation. In fact, authentic authority does not contradict right reason, and the latter never contradicts true authority. Both one and the other proceed without a doubt from the same source, which is divine wisdom" (I, PL 122, col 511B). We see here a courageous affirmation of the value of reason, founded on the certainty that true authority is reasonable, given that God is creative reason.
Even Scripture is not exempt, according to Erigena, from the need to apply the same criteria of discernment. In fact Scripture, affirms the Irish theologian, taking up again a reflection already presented by John Chrysostom, would not have been necessary if man had not sinned. Therefore, it must be deduced that Scripture was given by God with a pedagogical intention and lowering himself so that man could recall all that had been stamped on his heart from the moment of his creation "in the image and likeness of God" (cf. Genesis 1:26) and that the original fall had made him forget.
Erigena writes in the "Expositions": "Man was not created for Scripture, of which he would not have had necessity if he wouldn't have sinned, but rather Scripture -- interwoven with doctrine and symbols -- has been given to man. Thanks to it, in fact, our rational nature can introduce itself into the secrets of the authentic pure contemplation of God (II, PL 122, col 146C). The word of sacred Scripture purifies our rather blind reason and helps us to return to the memory of what we, as image of God, carry in our hearts, unfortunately violated by sin.
From here, some hermeneutical consequences are derived regarding the way to interpret Scripture, which can indicate still today the just path for a correct reading of sacred Scripture. It is a matter, in fact, of discovering the meaning hidden in the sacred text and this supposes a particular interior exercise thanks to which reason opens itself to the sure path leading to truth. This exercise consists in cultivating a constant readiness for conversion. To arrive deeply to the vision of the text, it is necessary to advance simultaneously in the conversion of the heart and in the conceptual analysis of the biblical page, whether it be of cosmic, historical or doctrinal character. Only thanks to the constant purification, as much of the eyes of the heart as of the eyes of the mind, can the exact understanding be achieved.
This arduous path, demanding and exciting, made up of continuous conquests and relativations of human knowledge, brings the intelligent creature toward the threshold of the divine Mystery, where all notions verify their own weakness and incapableness and lead, therefore, to going beyond -- with the simple, free and sweet force of the truth -- all that is continuously reached. The adoring and silent recognition of the Mystery, which flows into unifying communion, is revealed therefore as the only path for a relationship with the truth that is at the same time the most intimate possible and the most scrupulously respectful of the otherness. John Scotus, also utilizing in this a term appreciated by Christian tradition in the Greek language, called this experience to which we tend "theosis" or divinization, with daring affirmation to the point that he was suspected of falling into heterodox pantheism.
In any case, texts like the following cause intense emotion, texts in which, paying recourse to the ancient metaphor of the melting of iron, he writes: "Therefore, as all incandescent iron becomes liquid to the point that it appears only as fire, and nevertheless the substances of the one and the other remain distinct, in the same way it must be accepted that, after the end of this world, all nature, both corporal and incorporeal, will manifest only God, and nevertheless will remain integral, in such a way that God could be in a certain sense understood despite remaining incomprehensible, and the creature itself would be transformed, with ineffable marvel, into God" (V, PL 122, col 451B).
In reality, all of the theological thought of John Scotus turns into the clearest demonstration of the attempt to express the explainable of the inexplicableness of God, basing itself solely on the mystery of the World made flesh in Jesus of Nazareth. The numerous metaphors used by him to indicate this ineffable reality show up to what point he is aware of the absolute incapacity of the terms with which we speak of these things. And, nevertheless, there remains this enchantment and this atmosphere of authentic mystical experience in his texts that sometimes can almost be tangibly felt.
It is enough to cite, as proof, a page of the book "On the Division of Nature," which deeply touches our spirit as believers in the 21st century: "The only thing that must be desired," he writes, "is the joy of the truth, which is Christ, and the only thing that must be avoided is the absence of him. It should be considered that this [absence] is the only cause of total and eternal sadness. Take Christ from me and no good whatsoever remains for me; there is nothing that terrifies me as much as his absence. The worst torment of a rational creature is the privation and the absence of him (V, PL 122, col 989a).
These are words that we can make our own, converting them into a prayer to him who also is the longing of our hearts.
[Translation by ZENIT]
[The Holy Father then greeted the people in various languages. In English, he said:]
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today we consider the figure of John Scotus Erigena, an influential Christian thinker of the Carolingian period. Erigena’s interest in Eastern patristic theology, especially that of Dionysius, led him to study the latter’s works thoroughly and to translate them into Latin. According to Erigena, a believer is to seek the truth until he or she reaches a silent adoration of God in whose nature we participate by theosis, or "divinization". Since this experience can never be expressed fully in words, his theology proceeds by apophasis – that is, by asserting primarily what God is not. Yet he also holds that reason is indispensable in the human quest for God. Sacred Scripture, in fact, allows man to recall the truth which was impressed upon his soul at the beginning of time, but which had been forgotten through original sin. By reading the Bible, we can uncover the secrets of a pure, authentic contemplation of God. Let us therefore pursue the path of continual conversion in order to mine the riches of God’s word in our daily prayer and meditation.
I warmly greet all the English-speaking visitors present today. In a special way, I welcome seminarians from the United States participating in The Rome Experience Program, as well as pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Karachi in Pakistan. God bless you all!
© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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