To
representatives of the world of science and art in
NATURE AND ART LEAD TO THE MYSTERY OF GOD
The Hofburg Convention Centre in
Present at the meeting
were also Cardinals Glemp, Macharski
and O'Fiaich, the Minister for Science and Research,
and the Minister for Education and Art.
Pope John Paul II
addressed the group as follows:
Ladies and Gentlemen,
1.Greetings to all of you. Let me express my appreciation for the
invitation to this meeting with you - research workers and teachers at Austrian
universities and academies, artists representing the various disciplines of the
fine arts, of music, literature and the cinema, and representatives of the
press, radio and television. Greetings also to all those who in the
2.If this gathering had not taken place my visit to
3.Even though our positions may differ, we do meet in our
common interest in the place of man in
the world, in our concern for him,
our hope for him. We share this concern
at an hour in the history of man when the future of mankind is in grave
danger. In such times all creative and
thoughtful men of good will are under the obligation to combine forces more
than ever before, so that the progress of man, the progress of mankind, may not
be blocked or terminated by disaster.
4.Three years ago, at the headquarters of UNESCO in
Here
in
The
Church professes boldly its faith that man is made in the image of God, and
that he has his eternal future in God.
5.It is against this background that I should like to ask
you to consider the ideas I modestly put before you.
The
ultimate objective of all science is man;
science, in the last analysis, deals with man and serves man. In certain respects the same can be said of
theology, which deals with man in such a way that it transcends him and regards
him from the vantage point of his Creator.
In
all its disciplines science has undergone a high degree of specialization. This was one of the prerequisites for all the
discoveries and developments which make us stand in awe of the achievements of
the human mind, and which make the faithful praise the Lord as the Creator of
the creativity of this mind. Practical
applications of the progress made in the sciences have in many respects improved
the condition of man. Let me mention
only the strides made in combating hunger and pain.
If
science asserts that it pursues its activities in a value-free realm, such
ascetic renunciation of wishful thinking may well have a cathartic effect on
scientific analysis, unless its claim is absolutized
to such an extent that the irrefutable validity of moral values is no longer
recognized.
6.Like all human activities, also the activities of science,
pure and applied, are characterized by an inescapable
ambivalence. Man is threatened by what he himself produces. In the face of the
In
view of the many threats to mankind that result from technological revolutions
many people have become increasingly sceptical of, and sometimes hostile to,
science and technology. Still, our
problems cannot be solved by running away from science and its technological
applications but only by their continued or even intensified utilization,
though on a human scale. For it is not
science and technology as such that threaten mankind but their disengagement
from moral values.
7.In view of these developments it is imperative that man - God's image - came into his own as master and end of science and technology, so
that the products of his mind and his hands may not destroy him and the world
in which he lives. For this to be
achieved, scientists, technologists and politicians will have to ask themselves
searching questions, questions that relate just as much to the human individual
as to mankind as a whole: questions that
have been set aside for a time in an effort to foster scientific progress. I am referring to questions of a
philosophical and religious nature, questions relating to the meaning,
limitations, priorities and control of scientific and technological action -
which, of course, does not mean that what is commonly called fundamental
research should be limited or subjected to external controls in its quest of
truth. In the book of Genesis these
questions appear as God's eternal questions to man: “Adam, where are you?” and “Cain, where is
Abel, your brother?” Our receptiveness
for such questions also depends largely on the contribution of the humanities,
to which I referred in my address before the Institute Catholique
in
8.It is encouraging to know that the number of those
scientists who have come to comfort themselves with such questions is steadily
growing. Across the borders of countries
and power blocs a scientific world community is taking shape which, on ethical
grounds, is no longer prepared to accept that the fate of man is not threatened
by genetic manipulation, biological experiments and the sophistication of
chemical, bacteriological and nuclear weapons.
Let me cite in evidence of this the example of those 58 scientists from
all continents who, in September 1982, after a meeting of the papal
9.Man and his world - our earth which the first space
travellers saw as a planet resplendent in blue and green - have to be preserved
and nurtured. This implies that life
must be handled with care, also animal life and, indeed, all of animate and
inanimate nature. In the light of faith,
earth is not a boundlessly exploitable reservoir, but part of the mystery of
creation, not to be recklessly raided, but worthy of our awe and amazement.
10.This amazement, however, not only points us the
oft-forgotten road to nature as God's creation but also the road to the arts as
products of man's creative force. Max
Reinhardt, co-founder of the Salzburg Festival, once called the arts a “staff
of life”, or in other words, a prerequisite for the full realization of the human
potential. And the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, who hailed from your civilization, regarded art and
music as sources of fascination, comfort and help. Art - the helper of man - what a beautiful
and challenging definition. But it can respond to this challenge only if
it commits itself to the cause of humanity. In turn, humanity in all its
grandeur, with all its potentialities and susceptibilities, can be grasped only
if we look at it from the perspective of eternity, from the perspective of God,
who is the ultimate object of man's longing and its only fulfilment. Both the individual and society need the arts
to gain access to something that is more than just useful, to something that
confronts man with his own self. They
need literature and poetry, they need its gentle comfort as well as its
prophetic anger, they need the emotion which often
matures best in solitude and suffering. As Beethoven put it so profoundly: the artist, in a sense, responds
to a priestly calling.
11.The Church, too, needs the arts. Not, first and foremost, in order to
commission works of art and thus make art its handmaiden, but rather to get a
deeper insight into the human condition, into the misery and splendour of human
life. The Church needs the arts in order
to understand better what lies deep inside man - that man to whom the Church is
to preach its Gospel.
The
Church needs the arts especially for its liturgy, which-all in all-is meant to
be a work of art inspired by faith, drawing upon all the creative forces of
architecture, sculpture and painting, music and poetry. In its eschatological dimension, liturgy
strives to make man partake of the splendour and resonance of the Eternal
Jerusalem, of which the Bible tells us in its last book in the language of
art. This is where the beautiful and the
good - so often painfully reft apart in the course of
history - will be united forever.
Albert Einstein said that both true art and true science had their roots
in mystery. Religion and the Church seek
to penetrate into the depths of this mystery, and this is where they meet with
the arts and the sciences.
It
has sometimes been said that the arts are dying, or dead. In this respect, the
arts, but also philosophy, suffer a fate similar to that of the Church. I am confident, however, that art in all its
forms is inexhaustible of the human mind and of human imagination, “God created
man in his own image” (Gen
The
gradual resumption of the dialogue between the arts and the Church may well be
expected to give rise, in the long run, to works of art that speak to men -
believers and seekers alike - in a new way, and to open their eyes, their ears
and their hearts.
12.Let me now
specifically turn to those of you who, as publicists, render a crucially important
service to mankind. It is your task to
act as mediators between the sources and the recipients of information via your
instruments, the media. Let me thank you
for your valuable help in communicating the message of the Church to so many
people - also, and particularly, during these days of my visit.
In
the name of the many who expect such service from you and in fact, depend on
it, I ask you spare no effort to build
bridges between human beings, no matter how wide the gulf, no matter how insurmountable
the walls that separate them. Your
country is especially well placed to do this.
As you scrutinize man and society, do so not only with the piercing eye
of the diagnostician, but in the light of hope and with a flair for any
opportunities that might present themselves for a change for the better. Give good news a chance; make it at least as thrilling as bad
news. And search for whatever good may
be hidden behind tragedy.
13.“Behold the man!”
Let me summarize in these words what I have to lay before you.
Distinguished representatives of the arts, of science and the
media: Let me beseech you never to lose
sight of man as he hopes, loves, fears, suffers, sheds
his blood. Be his advocates, be the
guardians of his world - this beautiful, this endangered world.
In
this endeavour you are on common ground with the Church, which steadfastly
regards the One of whom Pilate said:
“Ecce homo” - ”Behold the man”.
Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, is the way to achieve humanity in its fullness. He is also our goal. May many receive the grace to find him again - aided by your endeavour.