Pope’s visit to Belgium On Friday, September 28, the Pope met with professors at the Catholic University of Louvain.
Summary of Pope’s address to students at the Catholic University of Louvain during his visit to Belgium.
Joey Kariveli, Vatican City
Pope’s lecture to the university students was interwoven with the triads of gratitude, mission, and loyalty, and the questions of how to study, what to study for, and for whom to study.
At the beginning of the lecture, the Pope expressed his happiness to meet and listen to the university students, recalling the fact that passion, hope, longing for justice and search for truth were evident in their words. The Pope, who said that the problems they were facing were strongly touched by their future and concerns, continued:
We can clearly see how violent and insolent the evil that destroys the environment and people is. It has the impression of being unbridled. War is its most brutal application. I’m not naming names, you know, in a country, today the most profitable investments are arms factories, which is a bad thing. So is corruption and modern forms of slavery. War, corruption and new forms of slavery. Sometimes these evils contaminate religion itself and it becomes an instrument of domination. You beware! This is blasphemy. Human unity with God, who is saving love, thus becomes slavery. Even the name of the Heavenly Father, the expression of care, evolves into the release of Ahammati. God is Father, not Master; He is a son and a brother, not a dictator; He is a spirit of love, not of dominion.
Christians know that evil does not have the last word, and we must stand strong in this regard. This does not diminish our responsibility, but rather increases our commitment: hope is our responsibility. A commitment worth making, because hope never disappoints. This certainty overcomes pessimism.
Following these words, the Pope spoke about gratitude, mission and loyalty. The Pope exhorted us that the first attitude we should have is one of gratitude as we have been given our home, and continued: We are not masters, we are guests and pilgrims on earth. God is the first to take care of it: God who created the earth is the first to take care of us.
The second attitude is mission: we are in the world to preserve the beauty of the earth and to cultivate it for the future of all, especially future generations. This is the church’s “ecological program”. But no development project can succeed if arrogance, violence and competition remain in our conscience and even in our society. One has to go to the source of the problem, and that source is the human heart. The dramatic urgency of the environmental issue also comes from the human heart: that is, from the arrogant indifference of the powerful, who always prioritize economic interest. In this case all requests will be muted or accepted as market fit. This is marketing spirituality.
Here comes the challenge of holistic development. This holistic development calls for a third attitude, loyalty. Loyalty to God and Loyalty to Man. This development in fact affects all people in all areas of their lives: that is, all physical, moral, cultural and socio-political levels; This development opposes all forms of suppression and displacement. The Church condemns these abuses, striving above all to convert each member, ourselves, to righteousness and truth. In this sense, holistic development calls for our holiness. It is a call to a just and happy life for all. Therefore, there are two options to choose from, either to manipulate nature or to take care of nature.
The Pope then referred to the knowledge of human nature. Here the Pope spoke about the role of women in the Church. The Pope also explained that attacks, injustices and ideological prejudices enter here. The Pope said that the Church is a woman and she is the bride and presented the fact that the Church is a gift from God. The Pope said that in this people of God, woman is a daughter, sister and mother. In fact, the Pope explained that men and women are people, and from the “beginning” they are called to love and be loved, and that calling is a mission, exhorting them to create their role in society and the Church. The Pope also alluded to the fact that a woman, the Virgin Mary, is at the center of evangelical history.
Following this piece of reflection, the Pope referred to the academic life of university students. How to learn? Why study? Who should study for? Papa raised questions and answered them.
Analyzing the question of how to learn, Pope exhorted that like all sciences there is only one method and also one style. Learning, in fact, is always a way of getting to know oneself and others, but there is a common style, the Pope said, and that is to learn together.
The second was the question of why study. Pope said that there is a reason that motivates us to study and a goal that attracts us, but they must be good, because the meaning of learning and the direction of our lives depend on them.
The third question Papa analyzed was for whom to study. Here, the Pope highlighted the importance of self-examination as to whether we are learning for ourselves, or to be accountable to others, or to be able to teach and serve others.
A good question for a university student to ask before asking himself if there is any benefit to studying is who am I serving myself? Or am I open to another service? Papa said. In any part of the world, the Pope revealed, it hurts him if he sees the university preparing students solely for the purpose of making money or wielding power. The Pope reminded us that it is the ability to work for the common good that must be witnessed at all times. Dear students, the Pope called you to be seekers of truth and witnesses of truth, raising the question of whether you want freedom.
