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Faith and Reason, Part 1

In this issue Dr Alan Schreck introduces John Paul’s great Encyclical on the relationship between faith and reason, Fides et Ratio.

It is only a little more than a decade ago that Pope John Paul II issued his thirteenth encyclical letter Fides et Ratio, on September 14, 1998. The letter opens with an unforgettable image: ‘Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.’ Yet this is spoken to a ‘one-winged’ world in which faith is increasingly seen as unreasonable and unnecessary to apprehend truth and to live a good life. Nonetheless, the Holy Father completes this opening statement with a clear statement of faith:

‘…God has placed in the human heart a desire to

know the truth – in a word, to know himself –so that by

knowing and loving God, men and women may also

come to the fullness of truth about themselves. (Cf. Ex33:18; Ps 27:89,63:23; Jn 17:8;1Jn 3:2)’

This premise is continued in the encyclical’s introduction, entitled ‘Know Yourself.’

He observes that all the great world religions grapple with the basic human questions about good and evil, the meaning of our existence, and the possibility of an ‘after life.’ The Catholic Church, the Pope says, has a special diakonia or service of truth, which it undertakes especially in the proclamation of Jesus Christ as ‘the way and the truth, and the life’ (Jn 14:6) (1.2). Yet, our understanding of faith will remain partial until ‘the final Revelation of God’ at the second coming of Jesus Christ.

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Dr. Alan Schreck is a professor of theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, specializing in Catholic doctrine, Church history, and the teachings of Vatican II. He is the author of several books including The Essential Catholic Catechism, published in 1999; Vatican II: The Crisis and the Promise, published by St. Anthony Messenger Press in 2005. In 2004 his noted apologetic book, Catholic and Christian: An Explanation of Commonly Misunderstood Catholic Beliefs, was reprinted in a 20th Anniversary edition. His latest book is The Legacy of Pope John Paul II: The Central Teaching of His 14 Encyclical Letterswhich can be ordered through this website. He and his wife Nancy have five children and reside in Steubenville.

This article is from The Sower and may be copied for catechetical purposes only. It may not be reprinted in another published work without the permission of Maryvale Institute. Contact [email protected]

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