Today the Church memorializes a great man –  advocate for and lover of the youth, brilliant theologian, fearless defender of Christianity, influential voice on the world’s stage, astute, perceptive interpreter of the signs of the times, charismatic and devout follower of Christ, and loving son of the Blessed Mother – Pope Saint John Paul II.

His accomplishments were varied and numerous. He instituted World Youth Day, added the Luminous mysteries to the rosary, traveled to 129 countries, and even played a crucial role in the destruction of the Berlin Wall, the reunification of Germany, and the freedom of Poland from communism.  His 27 year pontificate left an enduring mark on the Church, and also the political and cultural fabric of the world.

The eternal and penetrating wisdom of John Paul II runs like a golden thread throughout our curriculum: Veritatis Splendor, Laborem Exercens, Fides et Ratio, and Theology of the Body (Man and Woman He Created Them). His work and writings are extensively rooted in the sanctity of life and the dignity of the human person. It is quite appropriate that his feast day falls in the month dedicated to Life.

Fides et Ratio, while always incredibly profound and insightful, has begun to take on a new dimension with the advent of artificial intelligence.  In the prologue to Fides et Ratio, John Paul II shares a concern that “the search for ultimate truth seems often to be neglected” in favor of the useful knowledge that comes from experimental science and technological innovation (and this was in the time before the internet was commonplace!)

“It has happened therefore that reason, rather than voicing the human orientation towards truth, has wilted under the weight of so much knowledge and little by little has lost the capacity to lift its gaze to the heights, not daring to rise to the truth of being.”

Reason has “wilted under the weight of so much knowledge” and an important question arises. Do we find joy in the freedom of using our minds or do we find too much thought (perhaps with the constraints of deadlines and other requirements) burdensome?  If the answer is the latter, then the temptation to use AI becomes a serious one.

Along with Thomas Aquinas, Saint John Paul II sees the search for truth as not only a “perfecting of theories,” but also, even more “a perfecting of the minds of the enquirers.” (Via Christopher Blum in this article on John Paul II) Blum continues, “The habits of the wise man or woman are built up slowly and with difficulty over years of study and reflection…adopting the shortcuts offered by artificial intelligence threatens to undermine our mental discipline and our ability to profit from serious studies.”

I love that JPII’s wisdom remains relevant and powerful even in a situation that was completely unknown and undreamt of in 1998 when Fides et Ratio was written (not to mention Aquinas in the 13th century!)  I also love that the intellectual rigor and practice of our classical method of teaching aligns with both JPII and Thomas Aquinas’ thoughts.

I would like to close with some pearls of wisdom from the great man we celebrate today:

“The ultimate test of your greatness is the way you treat every human being.”

“Let science tell us what and how. Let religion tell us who and why.”

“If you want peace, work for justice.
If you want justice, defend life.
If you want life, embrace truth.”

“I plead with you–never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid.”

“A good leader sees everything, overlooks a great deal, and corrects a little.”

“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.”

“Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

“As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.”

“It is the duty of every man to uphold the dignity of every woman.”

“It is Jesus in fact that you seek when you dream of happiness; He is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; He is the beauty to which you are so attracted… It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be grounded down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal.”
— From his Vigil of Prayer Address on World Youth Day, 2001

Pope Saint John Paul II, pray for us! – Mrs. Lisa Sweet, Academic Dean