The Pope in Belgium: Francis met with professors at the Catholic University of Leuven

Searching for the truth in a world that runs the risk of being a victim of soulless rationalism was part of the exhortation that Pope Francis made this Friday the 27th when visiting the Catholic University of Leuven, one of the oldest in the world and which was committed to the response to the Protestant Reformation.

The Holy Father arrived at this school for his meeting with the teaching staff, within the framework of the second day of his apostolic visit to Belgium.

The Catholic University of Leuven was founded with a bull from Pope Martin V in 1425, so the center is preparing to celebrate six centuries of its creation next year.

In a document distributed to the press, the Vatican recalls that, a century after its founding, this center already had nearly 2,000 students “and among them great minds stood out, such as the humanist Desiderius Erasmus”, also known as Erasmus of Rotterdam. .

Later, he adds, “the university, committed to the Catholic response to the Reformation, was repressed by the forces of the French Revolution in 1797 and reestablished by the Belgian Episcopate in 1834.”

A culture that renounces seeking the truth

In his speech, Pope Francis recalled that one of the functions of the university is to promote “the passion for the search for truth, at the service of human progress,” and in the particular case of Catholic athenaeums, it is “to bring the contribution decisive” of the Gospel and the living Tradition of the Church, “which is always open to new scenarios and new proposals.”

However, he pointed out that in current times “we are immersed in a culture marked by the renunciation of the search for truth” and that prefers to immerse oneself “in the comfort of a weak thought” that believes that everything is relative.

Furthermore, he indicated, when talking about truth in academic settings “we often fall into a rationalist attitude, according to which only what we can measure and experience can be considered true, as if life were reduced only to matter and the visible.”

Francisco explained that the first phenomenon is caused by a “weariness of the spirit” that “relegates us to constant uncertainty and the absence of passion, as if it were useless to search for meaning in a reality that remains incomprehensible.”

“Searching for the truth is exhausting, because it forces us to get out of ourselves, to take risks, to ask ourselves questions. And, for this reason, we are more attracted – in the fatigue of the spirit – to a superficial life that does not raise too many questions; just as in the same way we are more attracted to an easy, light and comfortable ‘faith’, which never questions anything,” he explained.

“As for the second point, on the contrary, we have soulless rationalism, into which today we run the risk of falling again, conditioned by technocratic culture,” he warned.

The Holy Father explained to the professors that when man is reduced to mere matter and reality is forced “to the limits of what is visible (…), then the amazement is lost,” the restlessness of seeking the true answer “to the fundamental questions: why do I exist? What is the meaning of my life? What is the final objective and the ultimate goal of this journey?

Ask God to widen our borders

Faced with these challenges of spiritual fatigue and soulless rationalism, the Holy Father encouraged teachers to ask God: “Lord, broaden our borders,” so that the university may be “an open space for man and society.” in search of the truth.

“The Holy Spirit that we have received as a gift prompts us to search, to open the spaces of our thinking and our actions, until guiding us to the full truth,” he stated.

Pope Francis pointed out that the limitation of not yet knowing everything, as the rector stated, “should always push them to move forward, helping them to keep the flame of research lit and to continue being like an open window to today’s world.”

The Holy Father recalled that “a theologian originally from this land, son and professor at this university, has stated: ‘We are the burning bush that allows God to manifest himself.'”

“Keep the flame of this fire burning, widen the borders. Be restless seekers of the truth and never extinguish your passion, so as not to give in to the apathy of thought,” he encouraged.

The Pontiff also thanked the Catholic University of Louvain for receiving students from other countries and refugees. “They have opened their arms to welcome these people marked by pain, to help them study and grow,” he highlighted.

With this meeting, Pope Francis concluded his second day in Belgium. Tomorrow he plans to meet with the bishops, priests and religious in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Koekelberg, and with the members of the Society of Jesus in the country.