Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI sent a message to the International Theological Commission this week reflecting on the theological contributions of the commission that he led for nearly half of its 50-year history. “Only humility can find the Truth, and the Truth, in turn, is the foundation of Love, from which ultimately everything depends,” Benedict XVI wrote in a message read aloud to the International Theological Commission.
The pope emeritus expressed “gratitude for what has been accomplished in half a century” by the theological commission, “even with all the inadequacies of the human search.” Benedict XVI, then Joseph Ratzinger, served as president of the International Theological Commission from 1982-2005 as prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith under St. John Paul II.
Benedict XVI’s message, dated October 22, also encouraged the commission to “fundamentally continue in the effort to seek a consensus.” “As for me personally, work in the International Theological Commission has given me the joy of meeting other languages and forms of thought. Above all, however, it has been for me a continuous occasion of humility, which sees the limits of what is proper to us and thus opens the way to the greatest Truth,” Benedict XVI said. CNA
