Pontifical Council for Culture

The Pontifical Council for Culture ( _la. Pontificium Consilium de Cultura) dates back to the Second Vatican Council. A whole section of that documents on the Church, "Gaudium et Spes", emphasises the fundamental importance of culture for the full development of the human person. Pope Paul VI wrote: "the Kingdom which the Gospel proclaims is lived by men who are profoundly linked to a culture, and the building up of the Kingdom cannot avoid borrowing the elements of human culture or cultures." [cite web |url=http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_p-vi_exh_19751208_evangelii-nuntiandi_en.html |title=Evangelii Nuntiandi |accessdate=2008-07-14 |author=Pope Paul VI |publisher=Libreria Editrice Vaticana |date=1975-12-08 ]

Pope John Paul II founded the Pontifical Council for Culture on 20 May 1982. While in his Motu Proprio Apostolic Letter Inde a Pontificatus of 25 March 1993, the Pope merged the Pontifical Council for Dialogue with Non-Believers (founded in 1965) with the Pontifical Council for Culture.

The Council’s Aims

The Pontifical Council for Culture deals with the differences between the Gospel and cultures, and indifference in matters of religion. It is also concerned with relationships between the Holy See and the world of culture; in particular it promotes dialogue with contemporary cultures, so that civilisation may become more open to the Gospel, and so that men and women may know that the Church acknowledges their work as a service to truth and goodness.

The Council's tasks

*To promote the encounter between the saving message of the Gospel and the cultures of our time, often marked by unbelief or religious indifference

*To manifest the Church’s pastoral concern in the face of the serious phenomena of the rift between the Gospel and cultures. It therefore promotes the study of the problem of unbelief and religious indifference found in various forms in different cultures

*To foster the Church’s and the Holy See’s relations with the world of culture, by undertaking appropriate initiatives concerning the dialogue between faith and cultures, and intercultural dialogue.

*To establish dialogue with those who do not believe in God or who profess no religion, provided they are open to genuine co-operation. The Council organises and participates in study congresses in this field by means of experts

*To co-operate with Catholic universities and international organisations of a historical, philosophical, theological, scientific, artistic or intellectual nature, and to promote co-operation amongst them.

The Structure of the Council

The Pontifical Council for Culture has two sections: 1. Faith and Culture, 2. Dialogue with Cultures.

*President of the Pontifical Council for Culture - Gianfranco Ravasi
*President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Culture - Paul Cardinal Poupard
*Secretary, Father Bernard Ardura
*Under-secretary, Mons. Melchor Sánchez de Toca y Alameda
*Head of Office, Mons. Gergely Kovács

There are also many others including; 6 priests and 1 laity, 7 other administrative and technical assistants. The Council has a Plenary Assembly at least once every three years. The Pope appoints cardinals and bishops for five-year terms as Members of the Council. At present there are 13 cardinals and 17 archbishops and bishops from various parts of the world.

Presidents of the Pontifical Council for Culture

*Gabriel-Marie Cardinal Garrone (20 May 1982 - 19 Apr 1988 )
*Paul Cardinal Poupard (19 Apr 1988 - 3 Sept 2007)
*Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi (3 Sept 2007 -)

References

ee also

*Legal systems of the world
*Politics of the Vatican City