Card. Angelo Bagnasco: “Believers can not compromise or water down fundamental moral values."

A new 2-year specialization and Master Program in “Religion and Society” introduced

Rome, November 14, 2011 – Every Christian has the duty to actively participate in public life, each according to the “means available and most suitable to him.” This is because  Christian faith is “all-encompassing,” “which means to say that it saves all of man, and thus cannot help but inspire every field and action, whether it be private or public.” Such was the message given by Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, President of the Italian Conference of Catholic Bishops, at the beginning of the academic event held in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Institute for Advanced Religious Studies at the Apollinare (ISSRA), celebrated on Saturday, November 12.

“Today we must acknowledge the existence of a radical culture inspired by widespread Nihilism. It insists upon the absolute autonomy of politics from objective, and therefore universal, ethical values, and proposes an individualism free from all restrictions except that of bothering others,” stated Bagnasco.

In the face of this interpretation of politics, Christians must maintain their sense of responsibility and dedication to the common good. Believers “can never put their faith between parentheses, because it would mean putting themselves between parentheses and living separated from their identity.” In other words, “believers can not compromise or water down fundamental moral values."

In today’s complicated society—finished Cardinal Bagnasco—the Church “isn’t just concerned with doing charity-work; She  is not just a social agency that creates networks of community action,” as many would believe, but “also has something to say… Her actions are rooted in speaking out” so that “society does not become inhuman and politics, an end in itself.”

The second discussion of the day was given by Prof. Sergio Belardinelli from the University of Bologna, on the theme “The Eclipse or Return of God? Religion’s place in post-modern society.”

According to Prof. Belardinelli, “in a world where the difference between truth and error, or worse still, between truth and lies, no longer seems to exist, our task is to continue, in spite of everything, to keep the concept of truth alive. It is the first non-negotiable value, the first form of uncompromise that we must live with every day.”

“A society which eliminates the concept of truth from its public discussion,” he stated, “makes living together much more difficult.”

Prof. Belardinelli added that today “we have lost the sense of reality. We indulge fiction, and tend to assume ways of thinking that give one argument just as much credit as the next. This weakens reality.” From this problem arises the urgent task of “giving testimony within this world, strong in the conviction that we are not alone, that God is real, He exists, and that He is the true foundation of any society."

In the course of the day’s events, a new 2-year specialization and Master program in “Religion and Society” was introduced, which will be offered beginning on January 2, 2012. As the Rev. Prof. Marco Porta, Director of the Institute for Advanced Religious Studies, explained in an interview, the specialization will pay particularly close attention to the “current anthropological and ethical crisis in politics and economics,” and confront “the most crucial questions at the center of scientific debate, as well as the problems posed by multiculturalism, religious pluralism and by the relationship between Church teaching and the role of lay people in public life.”

In fact, “one can not do politics today without having a profound knowledge of religion.” For this reason it is important to remove “the stereotypes which see in religion an obstacle to scientific progress, or a sort of psychological defense, like a refuge into the irrationality of feelings.”

The day continued with the showing of photographs from the 25 year history of the Institute, and with the testimonies of students that were formed in the ISSRA’s classrooms.
The many letters and messages sent to the Secretary at the ISSRA are also meaningful. Agatha writes that her years in Rome have offered her “a new definitive vision of life,” which she now offers to her students. Mario feels “nostalgia for the subjects whose study gave him wings” and made him take “further steps towards a renewed faith.” Franca on the other hand, thanks to the studies she completed at the ISSRA, feels called today “to work and serve others through culture and formation.”

In conclusion of the days events, Msgr. Angelo Vincenzo Zani, Undersecretary for the Congregation of Catholic Education, celebrated a Solemn Mass in the Basilica of St. Apollinare for all of the day’s participants.
 

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