POPE ENCOURAGES SEMINARIANS TO DEFEND THE FAITH

A seminarian giving reverence to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

"Above all, your time in the seminary is also a time of study. The Christian faith has an essentially rational and intellectual dimension. Were it to lack that dimension, it would not be itself. Paul speaks of a “standard of teaching” to which we were entrusted in Baptism (Rom 6:17). All of you know the words of Saint Peter which the medieval theologians saw as the justification for a rational and scientific theology: “Always be ready to make your defence to anyone who demands from you an ‘accounting’ (logos) for the hope that is in you” (1 Pet 3:15). Learning how to make such a defence is one of the primary responsibilities of your years in the seminary."


[POPE BENEDICT XVI, Letter to Seminarians,18 October 2010, the Feast of Saint Luke the Evangelist. ]