To Representatives of the World of Science and Art (12 September 1983)

On Monday, 12 September 1983, the Holy Father met with representatives of the world of science and art at the Vienna Congress Center. In his speech, the Pope spoke of their common concern for the the future of humanity. “And we do this in a global situation in which the future of man is seriously threatened. In such a situation, all conscious, good-willed and creative men are called to unite their forces more than ever so that catastrophes do not impede or interrupt the path of men, the path of humanity.”

Ladies and gentlemen

1. Happy with this meeting, I greet you all, researchers and professors from universities, higher schools and academies in Austria, as well as artists in the fields of plastic arts, music, literature and cinema. Among you are also representatives of the press, radio and television. Finally, those in the Austrian Church are committed to a creative encounter with science, art and the media, led by the Cardinal.

2. If I had not been able to meet you, my visit to Austria would have missed an important element. Your country has made an irreplaceable contribution to the sciences and arts in the contrasting but fruitful exchange of many cultures over the centuries, and you make your contribution to this rich heritage today and for the future. The history of science and art in Austria , as well as in Europe, is linked in many ways to the history of faith and the Church. Conflicts engraved this relationship, and almost interrupted it. These conflicts, however, should not cause our gaze to deviate from common efforts, so rich in success, nor should they harm a new dialogue between science, art and the Church for the good of men.

3. Although from different regions, we find ourselves equally involved in the problems of man and his world, in our concern for him and in our hope for him. And we do this in a global situation in which the future of man is seriously threatened. In such a situation, all conscious, good-willed and creative men are called to unite their forces more than ever so that catastrophes do not impede or interrupt the path of men, the path of humanity.

4. Three years ago, at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris , I addressed an appeal to all the representatives gathered there, coming from all cultures of the human family: "Behold the man!". And I added: "You must love man because he is man."

Here in Vienna, before you, I would like to repeat these same words. Man is the common denominator of all sciences and all arts, and the media must have this objective: to unite men among themselves.

Man as an individual, as companion and son of God is also the theme of the Church: to the point that in my Encyclical Redemptor Hominis I stated: "This man is the first path that the Church must take in fulfilling its mission: he it is the first and fundamental path of the Church, a path traced by Christ himself, and a path that immutably leads through the mystery of the Incarnation and Redemption" (n. 14).

The Church confesses the firm faith that man is the image of God and his future is realized in Him.

5. I ask you to interpret from this point of view the simple thoughts I am about to express.

All science finds its fulfillment in man and through man . In a way, this also applies to theology, which deals with man in such a way that it goes beyond him and sees him from the perspective of his Creator.

In all its branches, science has become highly specialized. This is one of the premises for those discoveries and developments that cause us to admire the spirit of man and impel believers to praise the Creator of this spirit. The technical application of scientific progress has greatly improved human living conditions. Just think about the successes in the fight against hunger and suffering.

Also the freedom of values, claimed by science, their neutrality in their action, can act in a purified way in the analysis, freeing them from all prejudices, as long as they do not become absolutized to such an extent that they no longer recognize the indispensable requirement of moral values .

6. Like all human actions, science and its technical applications are subject to an essential ambivalence. Man is threatened by what he himself produces. Contemplating the Hiroshima catastrophe, physicist Jakob Robert Oppenheimer said: "Physicists recognized sin."

When considering the multiple threats to humanity as a consequence of technological advances, skepticism towards science and technology often arises, which sometimes even turns into hostility. And yet, the renunciation of science and the technical application of its progress cannot solve the problems; it can only become a continuous and even more intense exploration of both, if man is taken as the unit of measurement. Because it is not science and technology as such that threaten man, but the distance from moral norms.

7. It is time for man — the image of God — to once again become the master and ultimate end of science and technology, so that the work of his spirit and his hands does not devour him and the world that surrounds him. Therefore, science, technology and politics must consider those problems that have as their ultimate end both man in his irreplaceable singularity and all of humanity. Problems whose temporary neglect made scientific progress possible in the meantime. Problems of philosophy and religion that concern the meaning, limits, priorities and control of scientific and technical work; Without a doubt, in your search for truth, it should not be a limitation or a different definition of so-called basic research. We find these problems in the first book of the Bible as God's constant question to man: "Adam, where are you?" and "Cain, where is your brother Abel?" Sensitivity to these problems also depends to a large extent on the contribution of the human sciences, which I spoke about in my speech at the Catholic Institute of Paris, and which are the main acquisition of our time: however, they show, despite the horizons that have been opened to us, also its limits.

8. It is encouraging to know that the alliance between those who, as scientists, ask themselves these questions is becoming stronger. Beyond the confines of Nations and blocs, a global community of scientists was formed who, stimulated by moral responsibility, are not insensitive to the dangers represented by genetic manipulations, biological experiments and the creation of chemical, bacteriological and nuclear weapons. An example was given by 58 scientists from all over the world who, in September 1982, at the close of a congress at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, published a declaration on how to avoid atomic war ( L'Osservatore Romano , 3.10.1982).

9. Man and his world — our earth, which in the first space trip was seen as a green and blue star — must be protected and helped to progress. This means using life with caution , also animal life and all living and inanimate nature. The earth, from the perspective of faith, is not a reserve to be plundered without limits, but it is a part of the mystery of creation that we must not only use, but before which we must remain astonished and to which we owe veneration.

10. Admiration not only opens a path, often forgotten, to Nature as God's creation, but also a path to art as the work of man who creates. Max Reinhart, who was one of the founders of the "Salzburger Festspiele" (Salzburg Games), defined art as a way of life, that is, a condition of human life that is born. And the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, who belongs to your cultural area, speaks of works of art and music as something that uplifts, consoles and helps. Help from man: this is a beautiful definition of art, a beautiful mission for art. But art corresponds to this mission only if it joins its freedom to the human. For his part, the human becomes manifest with all his hopes, but also with all his dangers, only when he is seen on the horizon of the infinite, from the perspective of God, who in the last analysis is at the basis of all desire and of all man's aspirations and is the only one who can satisfy them.

Both the individual and the collective need art to interpret the world and life, to shed light on the situation of the time, to understand the height and depth of existence. They need art to focus on that which goes beyond the sphere of the purely useful and, therefore, promotes man. They need literature and poetry: their words, sometimes soft and delicate, but also prophetically harsh, which often mature better in solitude and suffering. According to a profound thought of Beethoven, the artist is in a certain way called to a priestly service.

11. The Church also needs art , not so much to entrust it with tasks and therefore ask it for a service, as to acquire a greater and deeper knowledge of the "human condition", of the splendor and misery of man. She needs art to better know what is found in man: in that man to whom she must proclaim the Gospel.

In a more particular way, the Church needs art for its liturgy, which in its fullness wants to be a work of art inspired by faith, including all the creative forces drawn from architecture, plastic art, music and poetry. Understood in its eschatological dimension, the liturgy wants to participate in the splendor and resonance of eternal Jerusalem, which the Bible speaks of in artistic language in its last book. This city is the place where beauty and goodness, which so often and painfully fade throughout history, are reunited forever.

Albert Einstein says that beside the birthplace of true art and true science lies mystery . In the depths of this mystery lie religion and the Church, which in this way join art and science.

There was sometimes talk of an imminent or already reached end of art. From this point of view, things move towards art, but also towards philosophy, in a very similar way as with the Church. I myself have confidence in the inexhaustibility of art in all its fields, because I am convinced of the inexhaustibility of the human spirit, and of human fantasy: "God created man in his image and likeness" ( Gen. 1, 27). From the colloquium that is little by little resuming between art and the Church, we can perhaps expect as a long-term result also works of art that open the eyes, ears and hearts of men in a new way, whether they are believers or are on the move. search for faith.

12. Allow me now to address you in particular, who provide an important service to men as journalists . Your service is mediation, therefore, its instruments are called means of communication. I thank you for your great contribution in making the word of the Church reach so many people during these days of my visit.

In the name of the countless people who expect this service from you and who need it, I ask you this: with perseverance, build bridges between the most separated and distant regions and beyond borders. Your country offers you particular possibilities for this. Consider men and society not only with a relentlessly diagnostic vision, but with a look of hope, with the insight that perceives transformations for the better. Make it possible to receive both good news, at least enthusiastically, and unpleasant news. And even if the news is unpleasant, highlight the good that is linked to it.

13. "Behold the man!" With this word I would like to summarize my words. Dear scientists, artists and journalists, do not be blind and deaf to him: to the man who waits, who loves, who is anguished, who suffers and bleeds. Be his defender, protect his world: this beautiful and threatened land.

You will thus meet the desires and concerns of the Church, which has its eyes fixed on the One of whom Pilate said: "Ecce homo" — "Behold the man!".

Jesus Christ , Son of God and man, is the way to true humanity . It is also the goal. I hope that many may know Him again, also through you.

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