Cardinal George Pell
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Australian society will become increasingly coarse and uncaring, indeed cruel on occasion, if Christian principles are excluded from public discussion, said the Archbishop of Sydney, George Cardinal Pell, reports The Catholic Weekly.
The secularists pursuing this aim will not be successful, but such an outcome will require regular struggle from religious activists, who understand that education devoid of moral considerations and with God excluded cannot guarantee even an increase in civility, much less a better, more just and compassionate society," the cardinal said in his homily at the Mass of Installation of General Peter Cosgrove as the third chancellor of Australian Catholic University at St Mary's Cathedral last Sunday.
Cardinal Pell said all the Christian certainties which we celebrate at Advent "constitute the bedrock" of Australian Catholic University.
"Human life has a meaning and purpose; truth is open to inquiry and can accurately describe reality; we are part of nature and must take responsibility for and be stewards of creation; personal fulfilment is best found through the service of others," he said.
"It is better to know than not to know, to respect tradition, be admiring of excellence, better to be open in hope to the future.
"As Christian believers in a Catholic institution we follow Psalm 119 in viewing God's word as a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, so that the search for truth and the cultivation of professional expertise should go hand in hand with the pursuit of virtue."
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