Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Faith Isn't Opposed to Reason, Says John Paul II
John Paul II received an honorary doctorate from Nicholas Copernicus University of Torun, Poland, and said he hoped the gesture would promote dialogue between science and faith.
In his brief address in Polish, the Holy Father advocated dialogue as the means to "overcome the contrast, made during the Enlightenment, of truth reached through reason and truth known through faith."
"Today we understand ever more that it is the same truth and that it is necessary for men and women not to walk alone but to try to confirm their own intuition through dialogue with others when reaching the truth on their own," he said.
"Only in this way will experts and men of culture be capable of assuming that special responsibility which I spoke about in Torun: 'the responsibility of truth; to strive toward it, to defend it, and to live according to it,'" the Pope added.
Before taking leave of his guests, the Pope said: "There is no greater wealth in a nation than that of being made up of learned citizens."
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