40
YEARS
SINCE THE COUNCIL
by Pascual Chávez Villanueva
REJUVENATING
THE FACE
MASTERS OF CULTURE
AND SAINTS
It was through culture that Christianity found expression in the course of history.
The apostles and the preachers of the Gospel from the very beginning made use of the written word. Soon they provoked a response from the more educated “pagans”, who through their critical writings demonstrated their aversion towards Christianity which they considered a new school of philosophy. Christians were not slow to rebut the arguments and the calumnies that were being spread about them. In this way there appeared on the scene the ‘apologists’, whose mission it was to demonstrate the truth of Christianity, the strength of the faith and the heroism of their charity. If at the beginning their main aim was the defence of religion soon they went on the attack pointing out to the State the injustice and the absurdity of the persecutions. This apologetic activity reached its climax in all probability with the work of Tertullian. A man of fighting spirit, an extremely gifted writer and a very effective speaker, not only did he refute all the accusations brought against Christianity, he also demonstrated that in fact Christians were the “good people” as their religion responded perfectly to the demands and the most profound aspirations of the human spirit. He so successfully refuted the arguments of the opposition that he demonstrated that paganism was really iniquitous. Philo of Alexandria, saint Justine, Origen and saint Augustine himself were eminent apologists. They showed Christianity to be the religion of monotheism, of morality, of the victory over evil, of freedom of conscience and they produced the first doctrinal synthesis of Catholic theology, showing that it was possible to know the fundamental truths of Christianity.
I have already referred to the ancient Fathers: Basil (SB April) John Chrysostom, Ambrose of Milan, Augustine, Gregory the Great. It should be said that the transmission of culture took place through monasteries, abbeys, convents, parishes… and through the universities established by the Church. The Seville school, which in saint Leandro and in saint Isidor had its greatest exponents, represents the apex of knowledge in the VI and VII centuries. Later, among others, there emerges the figure of saint Thomas Aquinas who amazed the world and for many centuries constituted the foundation of philosophical and theological studies. His teaching came to the fore once again in modern times thanks to Leo XIII and Jacques Maritain. Saint Albert the Great, saint Thomas’ teacher, was known as the “Universal Doctor” and considered an authority not only in theology and philosophy, but also in physics, geography, astronomy, mineralogy, chemistry (alchemy), zoology, physiology and even phrenology. He established methods of research which were successfully taken up and perfected by a number of his disciples. The contribution by some orders and religious congregations to science, literature, and culture in general has been enormous: Jesuits, Franciscans, Carmelites. Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas, Copernicus were Dominicans. Closer to our own times could be mentioned saint Francis of Sales, famous for the humanism that emanates from his writings on spirituality. On 11 October 1988 John Paul II canonised saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross – Edith Stein – and in 1999 he declared her a Doctor and a co-patron of Europe. The philosophy of this Jewess converted to Catholicism, a Carmelite nun and martyr under Nazism, represents for our days a witness and a example of dialogue between faith and culture.
We have mentioned the names of many men endowed with holiness and great learning, able to express in philosophical and scientific terms the most profound truths of salvation. All were prolific writers recognised by the Church as Masters of life and proclaimed by her ‘Doctors’. We know that man fully himself is the centre of humanity and that “man’s future depends on his culture”, as Pope Wojtyła declared in his address to UNESCO in 1980. Vatican II (Gaudium et Spes 53) underlined the importance of culture for the full development of man and the many links connecting the message of salvation and culture. As Christians we need to be the first to place our talents at the service of the development of peoples. The construction of a more just human family or of a more united international community is not a dream or a vague ideal but a moral imperative, a sacred duty that the intellectual and spiritual genius of man can face up to, profiting from the talents and the energies of each one and making use of all the technical and cultural resources at man’s disposal. Man’s cultural progress is the way of salvation chosen by God. For this reason, the Church, God’s instrument for the salvation of every man and every woman, appreciates culture, all cultures, and promotes dialogue between faith and culture. The Doctors of the Church are probably the ones who have most clearly interpreted that desire.
