Franciscan Studies

The Significance of the Apostolic Letter ,,Alma Parens" of Pope Paul VI. The inaugural address delivered by Archbishop H. E. Cardinale, Apostolic Delegate to Great Britain, in the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Oxford, on the occasion of the Second International Scholastic Congress marking the Seventh Centenary of the Birth of John Duns Scotus. You have come from all parts of the world in rather impressive numbers to participate in the Second International Scholastic Congress, which is about to take place in this ancient seat of learning to mark the seventh centenary of the birth of John Duns Scotus. I deeply appreciate the honour of addressing you on this significant occasion. In doing so I suppose that I assume in your eyes a dual personality: that of a Papal Delegate and that of an Archbishop. As a Papal Delegate I cannot ignore the many bonds which in the glorious past tied Oxford to the Holy See. Oxford is referred to as an ancient Academy in a deed of Pope Martin II as far back as 942. The terms of the University's first charter were dictated by Innocent Ill's Legate in 1214, and the relationship continued unbroken until the Reformation. As an Archbishop I cannot remain indifferent to the honour which is being rendered to one of the greatest philosophers and theologians of all times, whom Great Britain, this Alma Parens, this devoted Mother of valiant men, by every right claims as her own. This evening I propose to weld this dual personality into one and to speak to you with single heart and mind. After five centuries this noble citadel of learning, "the finest City of the world" as John Keats called it, is about to resound again with the tones of a language which once kept the surrounding air in constant vibration. Scholastic theology ranked here as the supreme science, inspiring all available knowledge. The very raison d'etre of the University was the building up and defence of the grand medieval synthesis, in which the whole range of thought and activity centered in a common religious conviction. The chief aim of study was to reconcile the growing demands of knowledge with the solid heritage of the Christian tradition, and thus find a solution to the audacious and intricate problems aroused 12ARCHBISHOP H. E. CARDINALE by the progress of learning. Even today this tradition survives in widely changed conditions. Though expressing itself in forms quite different from the past, it continues to exercise a strong influence on the life and teaching of this University which John Henry Newman in his day described as "the most religious University of the world". The venerable Church of St. Mary the Virgin, which has extended so gracious a hospitality to us this evening, was the centre of the life of the University from its earliest infancy. In this meeting-place the young students and their professors would assemble for worship as well as for academic exercises. It is particularly significant that an International Congress honouring John Duns Scotus should be inaugurated in a church dedicated to the Blessed Mother of God, of whose Immaculate Conception , as a logical corollary to his doctrine of the Primacy of Christ, he was the intrepid and strenuous defender, in direct opposition to the greatest scholars of his time and six centuries before the definition of the dogma. The choice of Merton College as the official seat of this Congress, is not without meaning. The College, founded shortly before Scotus' birth, soon became the most important of the earliest Colleges, and set a pattern of academic training in every discipline to all Europe. Its fellows acquired a reputation for bold speculation. Tradition associates Scotus' name with Merton but there is no evidence that he was a pupil or Fellow of that College. The Franciscan Friars came to England in 1224. Whilst many of them, in the original spirit of their Founder, dedicated themselves to making religion intelligible and influential for the common people, here in Oxford, under the guidance and patronage of Robert Grosseteste, the Friars fascinated the intellects of scholars from all Europe and carried the learning of that age to unsuspected heights. Oxford...