Acta Apostolicae Sedis - Commentarium Officiale320

III

Ad Catholicam Studiorum Universitatem Americae.*

Your Eminences,

Dear Brother Bishops,

Distinguished Professors, Teachers and Educators,

''How beautiful are the footsteps of those who bring good news''.1 With

these words of Isaiah quoted by Saint Paul, I warmly greet each of you -

bearers of wisdom - and through you the staff, students and families of the

many and varied institutions of learning that you represent. It is my great

pleasure to meet you and to share with you some thoughts regarding the

nature and identity of Catholic education today. I especially wish to thank

Father David O'Connell, President and Rector of the Catholic University of

America. Your kind words of welcome are much appreciated. Please extend

my heartfelt gratitude to the entire community - faculty, staff and students

- of this University.

Education is integral to the mission of the Church to proclaim the Good

News. First and foremost every Catholic educational institution is a place to

encounter the living God who in Jesus Christ reveals his transforming love

and truth.2 This relationship elicits a desire to grow in the knowledge and

understanding of Christ and his teaching. In this way those who meet him are

drawn by the very power of the Gospel to lead a new life characterized by all

that is beautiful, good, and true; a life of Christian witness nurtured and

strengthened within the community of our Lord's disciples, the Church.

The dynamic between personal encounter, knowledge and Christian wit-

ness is integral to the diakonia of truth which the Church exercises in the

midst of humanity. God's revelation offers every generation the opportunity

to discover the ultimate truth about its own life and the goal of history. This

task is never easy; it involves the entire Christian community and motivates

each generation of Christian educators to ensure that the power of God's

truth permeates every dimension of the institutions they serve. In this

* Die 17 Aprilis 2008. 1 Rom 10:15-17. 2 Cf. Spe Salvi, 4.