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Pope
Benedict XVI - Addresses |
"Genuine Religious Belief Points Us Beyond
Present Utility Toward the Transcendent"
Waldegrave Drawing Room of St. Mary’s
University College in Twickenham
H.H. Benedict XVI
September 17, 2010
www.zenit.org
Distinguished guests, dear friends,
I
am very pleased to have this opportunity to
meet you, the representatives of the various
religious communities in Great Britain. I
greet both the ministers of religion present
and those of you who are active in politics,
business and industry. I am grateful to Dr
Azzam and to Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks for the
greetings which they have expressed on your
behalf. As I salute you, let me also wish
the Jewish community in Britain and
throughout the world a happy and holy
celebration of Yom Kippur.
I would like to begin my remarks by
expressing the Catholic Church’s
appreciation for the important witness that
all of you bear as spiritual men and women
living at a time when religious convictions
are not always understood or appreciated.
The presence of committed believers in
various fields of social and economic life
speaks eloquently of the fact that the
spiritual dimension of our lives is
fundamental to our identity as human beings,
that man, in other words, does not live by
bread alone (cf. Deut 8:3). As followers of
different religious traditions working
together for the good of the community at
large, we attach great importance to this
"side by side" dimension of our cooperation,
which complements the "face to face" aspect
of our continuing dialogue.
On the spiritual level, all of us, in our
different ways, are personally engaged in a
journey that grants an answer to the most
important question of all – the question
concerning the ultimate meaning of our human
existence. The quest for the sacred is the
search for the one thing necessary, which
alone satisfies the longings of the human
heart. In the fifth century, Saint Augustine
described that search in these terms: "Lord,
you have created us for yourself and our
hearts are restless until they rest in you"
(Confessions, Book I, 1). As we embark on
this adventure we come to realize more and
more that the initiative lies not with us,
but with the Lord: it is not so much we who
are seeking him, but rather he who is
seeking us, indeed it was he who placed that
longing for him deep within our hearts.
Your presence and witness in the world
points towards the fundamental importance
for human life of this spiritual quest in
which we are engaged. Within their own
spheres of competence, the human and natural
sciences provide us with an invaluable
understanding of aspects of our existence
and they deepen our grasp of the workings of
the physical universe, which can then be
harnessed in order to bring great benefit to
the human family. Yet these disciplines do
not and cannot answer the fundamental
question, because they operate on another
level altogether. They cannot satisfy the
deepest longings of the human heart, they
cannot fully explain to us our origin and
our destiny, why and for what purpose we
exist, nor indeed can they provide us with
an exhaustive answer to the question, "Why
is there something rather than nothing?"
The quest for the sacred does not devalue
other fields of human enquiry. On the
contrary, it places them in a context which
magnifies their importance, as ways of
responsibly exercising our stewardship over
creation. In the Bible, we read that, after
the work of creation was completed, God
blessed our first parents and said to them,
"Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the
earth and subdue it" (Genesis 1:28). He
entrusted us with the task of exploring and
harnessing the mysteries of nature in order
to serve a higher good. What is that higher
good? In the Christian faith, it is
expressed as love for God and love for our
neighbour. And so we engage with the world
wholeheartedly and enthusiastically, but
always with a view to serving that higher
good, lest we disfigure the beauty of
creation by exploiting it for selfish
purposes.
So it is that genuine religious belief
points us beyond present utility towards the
transcendent. It reminds us of the
possibility and the imperative of moral
conversion, of the duty to live peaceably
with our neighbour, of the importance of
living a life of integrity. Properly
understood, it brings enlightenment, it
purifies our hearts and it inspires noble
and generous action, to the benefit of the
entire human family. It motivates us to
cultivate the practice of virtue and to
reach out towards one another in love, with
the greatest respect for religious
traditions different from our own.
Ever since the Second Vatican Council, the
Catholic Church has placed special emphasis
on the importance of dialogue and
cooperation with the followers of other
religions. In order to be fruitful, this
requires reciprocity on the part of all
partners in dialogue and the followers of
other religions. I am thinking in particular
of situations in some parts of the world,
where cooperation and dialogue between
religions calls for mutual respect, the
freedom to practise one’s religion and to
engage in acts of public worship, and the
freedom to follow one’s conscience without
suffering ostracism or persecution, even
after conversion from one religion to
another. Once such a respect and openness
has been established, peoples of all
religions will work together effectively for
peace and mutual understanding, and so give
a convincing witness before the world.
This kind of dialogue needs to take place on
a number of different levels, and should not
be limited to formal discussions. The
dialogue of life involves simply living
alongside one another and learning from one
another in such a way as to grow in mutual
knowledge and respect. The dialogue of
action brings us together in concrete forms
of collaboration, as we apply our religious
insights to the task of promoting integral
human development, working for peace,
justice and the stewardship of creation.
Such a dialogue may include exploring
together how to defend human life at every
stage and how to ensure the non-exclusion of
the religious dimension of individuals and
communities in the life of society. Then at
the level of formal conversations, there is
a need not only for theological exchange,
but also sharing our spiritual riches,
speaking of our experience of prayer and
contemplation, and expressing to one another
the joy of our encounter with divine love.
In this context I am pleased to note the
many positive initiatives undertaken in this
country to promote such dialogue at a
variety of levels. As the Catholic Bishops
of England and Wales noted in their recent
document Meeting God in Friend and Stranger,
the effort to reach out in friendship to
followers of other religions is becoming a
familiar part of the mission of the local
Church (n. 228), a characteristic feature of
the religious landscape in this country.
My dear friends, as I conclude my remarks,
let me assure you that the Catholic Church
follows the path of engagement and dialogue
out of a genuine sense of respect for you
and your beliefs. Catholics, both in Britain
and throughout the world, will continue to
work to build bridges of friendship to other
religions, to heal past wrongs and to foster
trust between individuals and communities.
Let me reiterate my thanks for your welcome
and my gratitude for this opportunity to
offer you my encouragement for your dialogue
with your Christian sisters and brothers.
Upon all of you I invoke abundant divine
blessings! Thank you very much.
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