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When organizing cultural and educational initiatives “let us cast off the burden of pessimism” — of today’s society that “threatens to ‘cancel’ hope,” Pope Francis told the members of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education, whom he met on November 21, 2024. In his speech he highlighted great saints and artists from the past, spanning from St. Augustine to Mozart, as guides to help those working in culture and education to try and inspire future generations.
“I would urge you to see your mission in the areas of education and culture as calling upon others to broaden their horizons, to overflow with inner vitality, to make space for new possibilities and, in sharing the gifts they have received, to make them abound all the more,” Pope Francis said. “Our task as educators and artists is to tell others: ‘Be fruitful! Take risks!’”
The Dicastery for Culture and Education is the Vatican body that deals with the promotion of initiatives and pastoral projects that focus on culture and heritage. On the other hand, this organ also focuses on developing and promoting Catholic education, especially in the numerous religious institutions of all levels across the world.
It was created in 2022, after Pope Francis merged together the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Congregation for Catholic Education.
Fight today’s pessimism and nihilism
Firstly Pope Francis said that Catholic educators and artists should “cast off the burden of pessimism – which is not the mark of a Christian – and work together to set humanity free from the encircling gloom of nihilism,” which he finds to be “the most dangerous malady of contemporary culture.”
For the Pontiff this negativity present in today’s world “threatens to ‘cancel’ hope”; but Christian hope “does not disappoint, it is a source of strength. Think of its image, the anchor.” Pope Francis was referencing Chapter 5, verse 5, of St. Paul’s letter to the Romans (“and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us”), which he also cited in the bull of indiction of the 2025 Jubilee with the same Bible passage, as hope is the theme this upcoming Holy Year.
In his speech, he in fact said that he was counting on the members of this Vatican body to “roll up [their] sleeves and get started,” on spreading the “plea” of hope during 2025.
“Our world does not need automatons that simply repeat what has already been said and done; it needs new choreographers, new interpreters of our rich human resources, new social poets,” the Pope emphasized. “Educational models that aim merely to produce ‘results’ are useless in the absence of a cultural vision capable of forming persons prepared to help the world change gears by eliminating inequality, endemic poverty, and exclusion. The pathologies of today’s world must not be regarded with resignation, much less complacency, as being inevitable.”
Look to past figures for guidance
“Schools, universities and cultural centers should instead be places that teach how to yearn, desire, and dream,” he continued. He said to beware of starting initiatives for the wrong reasons, such as “success in the eyes of the world, the prestige of a higher ranking, or simply self-preservation.”
“If those are our goals, they are surely not enough!” he emphasized, urging instead to point people towards God. In fulfilling this mission, he also said the Church can draw on the numerous holy men and women from its past and beyond.
“We have no reason for fear. First, because Christ is our guide and traveling companion. Secondly, because we are guardians of a cultural and educational heritage that is greater than ourselves,” he explained.
“We are heirs to the profound thought of Augustine. We are heirs to the poetry of Ephraim the Syrian. We are heirs to the medieval cathedral schools and the founders of the first universities. Heirs to Thomas Aquinas and Edith Stein, and to those who commissioned the works of Fra Angelico and Mozart, and more recently of Mark Rothko and Olivier Messiaen. We are heirs to the innumerable artists inspired by the mysteries of Christ. Heirs to great scientists and thinkers like Blaise Pascal. In a word, heirs to the passion for education and culture of countless saints and holy men and women.”
Do not abandon students
The Pope also then highlighted that “today, the world has the highest number of students in history,” and they should be the number one priority for educators and cultural leaders.
“Some 250 million children and adolescents do not attend school. We are morally obliged to change this situation,” he said. “For cultural genocide is not only about the destruction of a people’s heritage; cultural genocide also takes place when children are robbed of their future by our failure to provide the conditions necessary for them to become all that they can be.”
“When we see in so many places children rummaging through the rubbish for things to sell so as to have something to eat. Let us think of the future of humanity when we look at these children,” he continued. “Ours is an immense, immense responsibility! To educate is to dare to support the growth of others, as if to say, with Augustine: Volo ut sis, ‘I want you to be.’”
Be aware of the technological revolution
Lastly, Pope Francis also asked his audience members to keep in mind the “epochal change” of “scientific development and technological innovation” and to dedicate resources to studying “its benefits and dangers.”
“We can hardly ignore the rapid advances made in such areas as the digital transition and artificial intelligence, with all their implications and the crucial questions they raise,” he encouraged.
“This being said, I repeat: Rather than yielding to fear, we should keep in mind that complex cultural transitions often prove to be highly fruitful and creative moments for the advancement of knowledge,” he said. “Our contemplation of the risen Christ gives us the courage to face the future with confidence, trusting in his challenging invitation”
