04.01.2025, Catholic News
Foto © Vatican Media
ITI-Dean Prof. Dr. Michael Wladika meeting the Holy Father
For the ITI as a Catholic university, Rome, the Holy Father and the Vatican Dicastery for Culture and Education are of course fundamentally important points of reference. When this dicastery organizes a congress with the very important title “The Future of Theology: Legacy and Envisioning”, then the presence of the ITI is a matter of course. From December 9 to 10, rectors, deans and professors of ecclesiastical universities and faculties from all over the world met at the Lateran University. Beforehand, the Holy Father welcomed the participants in the Vatican. ITI Dean Prof. Dr. Michael Wladika reports on his “highlights” and important and strengthening points for the ITI.
„Theology and Light“
The Address of the Holy Father
„My highlights at this event came very early on,” says the Dean, ”namely at the meeting with the Holy Father at the beginning. There was the meeting itself, the presence of the Vicar of Christ at a congress on the future of theology.And then there are the various nuances in the Holy Father's address:The Holy Father very beautifully made a connection between “theology” and “light”. One can draw the conclusion: Just as nothing can be seen without light, so without theology nothing can be seen intellectually, i.e. understood in the strict sense.The Holy Father quoted two and only two theologians at the beginning of this congress on the future of theology: St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Bonaventure. This is as decisive as it is encouraging for us. St. Thomas is the most important teacher of the Holy Church, the author that our students at the ITI read the most. And St. Bonaventure is another great author from the great thirteenth century, the thirteenth century, which for us at the ITI represents at least one of the culmination points in the unfolding of the contents of our faith.”
Aspects and Tasks
The congress itself strongly emphasized the debate between theology and other sciences and views. This is certainly important.The resumption and integration of the Artes Liberales at the ITI is intended to demonstrate precisely this debate in a non-arbitrary way. The liberal arts are the traditional realization of interdisciplinarity.
The presence of the word “legacy” in the title of this high-level congress is very encouraging for us. “Ad fontes - to the sources” is our academic motto par excellence.
The universality of the universal church was constantly evident at this congress. Universality throughout time is ensured at the ITI by our affirmative reference to tradition. And with regard to the space, one only has to look at the bridging function of the ITI between East and West and the internationality.
Congresses of this kind naturally always contain many aspects and points of view. But one thing became clear: The importance of the ITI is growing and growing and growing ...