To Theology Teachers in the Pontifical University of Salamanca (1 November 1982)

On Monday, 1 November1982, the Holy Father addressed the Theology Teachers in the Pontifical University of Salamanca. Recalling the formula of Saint Anselm of Canterbury, that theology is faith seeking understanding, the Pope continued, “Faith is the vital and permanent root of theology, which arises precisely from asking and searching, intrinsic to faith itself; and that is, from her impulse to understand herself, both in her radically free option of personal adherence to Christ, and in her assent to the content of Christian revelation.”

Dear brothers.

1. As in the trip to Germany, so in this visit to Spain I wanted to have a personal meeting with you, teachers of Theology at the Faculty and Seminaries. I cordially join you with the memory of my university, theological and philosophical teaching in Poland, and above all the conviction of the important role that theology has in the ecclesial community. For this reason, already in my first encyclical, Redemptor Hominis , I wrote: "Theology has always had and continues to have great importance, so that the Church, the People of God, can participate in a creative and fruitful way in the prophetic mission of Christ" (John Paul II, Redemptor Hominis, 19).

To meet with you I have chosen the famous and beautiful city of Salamanca, which with its ancient University was the center and symbol of the golden age of theology in Spain and which from here radiated its light on the Council of Trent, contributing powerfully to the renewal of all Catholic theology.

The limited time I have does not allow me to evoke all the illustrious figures of that era. However, I cannot help but mention the names of the exegete, theologian and poet Fra' Luigi of León, of “Doctor Navarrus” Martín of Azpilcueta, of Francesco di Vitoria, master of masters, of the Tridentine theologians Domenico Soto and Bartolomeo Carranza, of Giovanni Maldonado in Paris, of Francesco di Toledo and Francesco Suàrez in Rome, of Gregory of Valenza in Germany. And how can we forget the "doctors of the Church", John of the Cross and Teresa of Jesus?

In such difficult times for Christianity, these great theologians stood out for their faithfulness and creativity. Loyalty to the Church of Christ and radical commitment to its unity under the primacy of the Roman Pontiff. Creativity in the method and in the problem.

Together with the return to the sources - the Sacred Scripture and the Sacred Tradition - they achieved the opening to the new culture that was being born in Europe, and to the human problems (religious, ethical and political) that had arisen with the discovery of new worlds in West and East. The inviolable dignity of every person, the universal perspective of international law (" ius gentium ") and the ethical and normative dimension of the new socio-economic structures entered fully into the work of theology and from it received the light of Christian revelation.

For this reason, in the new and difficult times we are experiencing, the theologians of that era continue to be teachers for you, in order to obtain a renewal, both creative and faithful, which responds to the directives of Vatican II, to the needs of culture modernity and the deepest problems of contemporary humanity.

2. The essential and specific function of theological work has not changed, nor can it change. Saint Anselm of Canterbury formulated it, already in the 11th century, with a phrase admirable for its accuracy and density: “Fides quaerens intellectum”, the faith that seeks intelligence . Faith is therefore not only the essential prerequisite and the fundamental disposition of theology: their connection is much more intimate and profound.

Faith is the vital and permanent root of theology, which arises precisely from asking and searching, intrinsic to faith itself; and that is, from her impulse to understand herself, both in her radically free option of personal adherence to Christ, and in her assent to the content of Christian revelation. Doing theology is therefore a task that falls exclusively to the believer as a believer, a task vitally aroused and supported at all times by faith, and for this reason unlimited question and research.

Theology always remains within the mental process that goes from "creating" to "understanding"; it is scientific reflection , as it is conducted critically , that is, aware of its presuppositions and its needs in order to be universally valid; methodologically, i.e. compliant with the norms imposed on it by its object and its purpose; systematically , that is, oriented towards a coherent understanding of the truths revealed in its relationship with the center of faith, Christ, and in its salvific meaning for man.

The theologian cannot limit himself to preserving the doctrinal treasure inherited from the past, but must rather seek an understanding and an expression of faith, which make it possible to accept it into the way of thinking and speaking of our time. The criterion that must guide theological reflection is the search for a renewed understanding of the Christian message in the dialectic of renewal in continuity and vice versa (cf. John Paul II, Allocutio ad Belgii episcopos occasion oblata ad Limina visitationis coram admissos, die 18 sept. 1982 : Vide supra, pp. 474ff.).

3. The situation of current culture, dominated by the methods and approach of the natural sciences, and strongly influenced by philosophical currents that proclaim the exclusive validity of the principle of experimental verification, tends to ignore the transcendent dimension of man; and for this reason, obviously, to neglect or deny the question of God and Christian revelation.

Faced with this situation, theology is called to concentrate its reflection on its radical and decisive themes: " the mystery of God ", of the Trinitarian God, who in Christ revealed himself as the God-Love; “ the mystery of Christ ”, the Son of God made man, who with his Death and Resurrection definitively illuminated the deepest aspects of human existence; “ the mystery of man ”, which in the insurmountable tension between his own finiteness and his own yearning for the infinite, carries within himself the indispensable question about the ultimate meaning of his own life. It is theology itself that imposes the question of man, in order to understand him as a recipient of the grace and revelation of Christ.

If theology has always needed the help of philosophy, today this philosophy will have to be anthropological, that is, it will have to search in the essential structures of human existence for the transcendent dimensions that constitute man's radical capacity to be challenged by the Christian message to understand it as salvific; that is, as a response of free fullness to the fundamental questions of human life. This was the process of theological reflection followed by the Second Vatican Council in the constitution Gaudium et Spes : the correlation between the profound and decisive problems of man, and the new light that the Person and message of Jesus Christ sheds on them (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 9-21).

We thus see that the theology of our time needs the help, not only of philosophy, but also of the sciences, and above all of the human sciences, as an essential basis for answering the question: "what is man". For this reason, interdisciplinary courses and "seminars" cannot be missing from the Faculties of Theology.

4. The Christian faith is ecclesial, that is, it is born and remains linked to the community of those who believe in Christ, which we call the Church. As a reflection born from this faith, “theology is an ecclesial science, because it grows in the Church and operates in the Church; for this reason it is never the task of a specialist, isolated in a sort of ivory tower. It is at the service of the Church, and, therefore, must feel dynamically integrated in the mission of the Church, especially in its prophetic mission" (John Paul II, Allocutio ad academicas Auctoritates, Professores et Alumnos Pontificiae Universitatis Gregorianae, aggregatorumque Institutorum, in eiusdem Athenaei aedibus habita , 6, 15 Dec. 1979 : Teachings of John Paul II, II, 2 [1979] 1424).

The task of the theologian therefore contains the character of ecclesial mission, as participation in the evangelizing mission of the Church and as an illustrious service to the ecclesial community.

Hence the grave responsibility of the theologian, who must always keep in mind how the People of God, and above all the priests and future priests who must form this same People in the faith, have the right to receive explanations that are neither ambiguous nor reductive on the fundamental truths of the faith Christian. “We must confess Christ in the face of history and in the face of the world with profound, heartfelt and lived conviction, as Peter confessed: “ You are the Christ, the Son of the living God ”. This is the good news, in a certain sense the only one: the Church lives of it and for it, just as it draws from it everything it has, to offer it to men" (John Paul II, Allocutio ad Episcopos, in urbe Puebla aperientis III Coetum Generalem Episcoporum Americae Latinae habita, I, 3, die 28 ian. 1979 : Teachings of John Paul II, II [1979] 192). “We must serve the men and women of our time. We must serve them in their thirst for total truths; thirst for ultimate and definitive truths, thirst for the Word of God, thirst for unity among Christians (John Paul II, Allocutio ad academicas Auctoritates, Professores et Alumnos Pontificiae Universitatis Gregorianae, aggregatorumque Institutorum, in eiusdem Athenaei aedibus habita, 6, die 15 dec . 1979: Teachings of John Paul II, II, 2 [1979] 1424).

5. The essential connection of theology with faith, founded and centered in Christ, illuminates with complete clarity the bond of theology with the Church and its Magisterium. One cannot believe in Christ without believing in the Church "Body of Christ"; one cannot believe with the Catholic faith in the Church, without believing in her indispensable Magisterium. Fidelity to Christ therefore implies fidelity to the Church; and fidelity to the Church in turn entails fidelity to the Magisterium. It is therefore necessary to realize that with the same radical freedom of faith with which the Catholic theologian adheres to Christ, he also adheres to her Church and Magisterium.

For this reason the ecclesial Magisterium is not an instance extraneous to theology, but rather intrinsic and essential to it. If the theologian is first and foremost a believer, and his Christian faith is faith in the Church of Christ and in the Magisterium, his theological work cannot fail to remain faithfully bound to his ecclesial faith, of which the authentic and binding interpreter is the Magisterium.

Therefore, be faithful to your faith, without falling into the dangerous illusion of separating Christ from his Church, nor the Church from its Magisterium. “Love for the concrete Church, which includes fidelity to the testimony of faith and to the ecclesiastical Magisterium, does not distance the theologian from his specific task, nor does it deprive him of his indispensable consistency. Magisterium and theology have a different function. For this reason they cannot be reduced to one another" (John Paul II, Allocutio Ottingae, ad sacrae theologiae tradendae munere amministraziones habita, 3, die 18 Nov. 1980 : Teachings of John Paul II, III, 2 [1980] 1337 ).

But they are not two opposite tasks, but rather complementary. “The Magisterium and theologians, inasmuch as they must serve the revealed truth, are bound by the same bonds and that is, they are bound to the Word of God, to the "sense of faith" ("sensus fidei"). . ., to the documents of Tradition, in which the community faith of the People of God is proposed! Finally, to the pastoral and missionary task to which both must attend” (John Paul II, Allocutio ad sodales Commissionis Internationalis Theologicae habita, 7, die 26 oct. 1979 : Teachings of John Paul II, II, 2 [1979] 970). For this reason the Magisterium and theology must remain in a dialogue, which will be fruitful for both and for the service of the ecclesial community.

6. Dear professors: know that the Pope, who was also a man of study and university, understands the difficulties and enormous demands of your work. It is a silent task to be carried out with self-sacrifice, which demands of you full dedication to research and teaching. Because teaching without research runs the risk of falling into the "routine" of repetition.

Know how to be creative every day, and to this end you must be informed about current issues through assiduous reading of the highest quality publications and through the hard effort of personal reflection. Do theology with the rigor of thought and with the disposition of a heart passionate about Christ, his Church and the good of humanity. Be tenacious and constant in the continuous maturation of your ideas and in the precision of your language. I would like you not to forget these words: your mission in the Church is as arduous as it is important. It is worth dedicating your entire life to it; it is worth it for Christ, for the Church, for the solid formation of priests - and also of religious and lay people - who will faithfully and competently educate the consciences of the faithful on the sure path of salvation.

Your work was not in vain. The number and level of theological faculties in Spain, together with the quality of their publications, ensures Spanish theology a pre-eminent place in current Catholic theology. I would also like to highlight the special importance of theological centers for lay people: they are a promise for the future of the Church.

My last word of farewell is for you, dearest students. The Church trusts in you and needs you. Learn to think deeply. Raise your gaze to the needs of today's world and above all to the need to bring it salvation in the Person and message of Christ, to the understanding of which you dedicate your theological education.

7. To the common Mother, “Sedes Sapientiae”, I entrust your people and your work. May she, who knew her Son so deeply and followed him so faithfully, always show you the path that leads to Jesus.

So that you live what you study and teach. So that there is nothing in teaching and publications that does not correspond to the faith of the Church and the directives of the Magisterium. So that you feel the joy and ecclesial responsibility of giving the authentic doctrine of Christ to those who have to communicate it to others. So that you may truly be servants of Him who is light, truth and salvation. In his name I encourage you and bless you with affection, together with all the theology professors in Spain and their students.

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