ROME (Zenit.org): The thought of Karol Wojtyla has inspired the founding of an interdisciplinary academy that seeks to bring about a deeper understanding of the human person in all of its facets.
Under the sponsorship of the Holy See, the Academy of Human and Social Sciences was inaugurated in Rome on April 17. The academy was inspired by the thought of Pope John Paul II.
It seeks to foster interdisciplinary dialogue between the social and the religious sciences, with a view to establishing a deeper understanding between the world of technology and science and the human and social sciences, as well as between different cultures and religions.
The academy works under the sponsorship of the Pontifical Council for Culture. Its 120 members come from various fields of science and religion and other areas of human thought.
On the inauguration day, Pontifical Council for Culture president Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi affirmed: “The ecclesiastical world can do this with a greater focus on theology, but at the same time with all of the rigour of philosophy.
“The secular world, on the other hand, does this with its instruments: all the documents and investigations that form part of the world of culture as they are presented in contemporary society.”
Regarding the thought of John Paul II, Ms Bello said it certainly “has had a prophetic role, and all of us received during that long pontificate a formation that is linked to his presence.
“He has taught us openness to the other, beyond any differences.
“Moreover, with his profound humanity, he has taught us also to be humans.”
There are two congresses planned for 2009, one on good and evil in religions, and another on identity and globalisation as a challenge for the future.
