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distress, the notion of freedom being distorted. Freedom is not an opting out.

It is an opting in - a participation in Being itself. Hence authentic freedom

can never be attained by turning away from God. Such a choice would

ultimately disregard the very truth we need in order to understand ourselves.

A particular responsibility therefore for each of you, and your colleagues, is

to evoke among the young the desire for the act of faith, encouraging them to

commit themselves to the ecclesial life that follows from this belief. It is here

that freedom reaches the certainty of truth. In choosing to live by that truth,

we embrace the fullness of the life of faith which is given to us in the Church.

Clearly, then, Catholic identity is not dependent upon statistics. Neither

can it be equated simply with orthodoxy of course content. It demands and

inspires much more: namely that each and every aspect of your learning

communities reverberates within the ecclesial life of faith. Only in faith can

truth become incarnate and reason truly human, capable of directing the will

along the path of freedom.7 In this way our institutions make a vital con-

tribution to the mission of the Church and truly serve society. They become

places in which God's active presence in human affairs is recognized and in

which every young person discovers the joy of entering into Christ's ''being

for others''.8

The Church's primary mission of evangelization, in which educational

institutions play a crucial role, is consonant with a nation's fundamental

aspiration to develop a society truly worthy of the human person's dignity.

At times, however, the value of the Church's contribution to the public forum

is questioned. It is important therefore to recall that the truths of faith and of

reason never contradict one another.9 The Church's mission, in fact, involves

her in humanity's struggle to arrive at truth. In articulating revealed truth

she serves all members of society by purifying reason, ensuring that it re-

mains open to the consideration of ultimate truths. Drawing upon divine

wisdom, she sheds light on the foundation of human morality and ethics,

and reminds all groups in society that it is not praxis that creates truth but

truth that should serve as the basis of praxis. Far from undermining the

tolerance of legitimate diversity, such a contribution illuminates the very

7 Cf. Spe Salvi, 23. 8 Cf. ibid., 28. 9 Cf. First Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith Dei

Filius, IV: DS 3017; St. Augustine, Contra Academicos, III, 20, 43.