NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- At his weekly catechetical audience today, Pope John Paul II continued his reflections on the work of the Holy Spirit-- who, he said, plants the "seeds of truth" in human thought.

      In an apparent reference to his forthcoming encyclical on faith and reason, the Holy Father said: "The Church is always ready for a meeting between human thought and the truth of Jesus Christ."

      The Holy Spirit works in the minds of men who search for truth, the Pope taught. "The Spirit of truth guides men and women to the fullness of truth and love which God the Father has revealed in Jesus Christ-- even if, through no fault of their own, they do not know the Gospel." For that reason, the Church always cherishes the authentic search for truth, wherever it is found in different cultures.

      The cultural heritage of that philosophical search, however, reaches its culmination in the Revelation, the Pope continued. He urged believers to continue their efforts at "patient dialogue" with those still searching for the truth. He said that the gulf between faith and cultural mores is "the tragedy of our time."

      Vatican observers are now speculating about the date of release for the Pope's encyclical on faith and reason, which is already finished and now being printed. It may be issued in time to commemorate the 20th anniversary of his pontificate, or for the canonization of Blessed Edith Stein, whose philosophical work centered on that question.