"What should the Pope do or say at the university? Certainly, he must not seek to impose the faith upon others in an authoritarian manner – as faith can only be given in freedom. Over and above his ministry as Shepherd of the Church, and on the basis of the intrinsic nature of this pastoral ministry, it is the Pope’s task to safeguard sensibility to the truth; to invite reason to set out ever anew in search of what is true and good, in search of God; to urge reason, in the course of this search, to discern the illuminating lights that have emerged during the history of the Christian faith, and thus to recognize Jesus Christ as the Light that illumines history and helps us find the path towards the future."
--Pope Benedict XVI, from an address that he had intended to give at La Sapienza University, Rome, January 2008. The address was canceled because of the threat of a demonstration against the pope.
One suspects that no one frothing about President Obama's speaking at Notre Dame has read the pontiff's contention that "faith can only be given in freedom" and that the pope must "invite reason to set out ever anew in search of what is true and good" and "urge reason, in the course of this search, to discern the illuminating lights that have emerged during the history of the Christian faith." But you can read it at the Vatican website.
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