The John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute and the Pontifical Academy for Life, two institutions of the Holy See that I have the honor of serving, which are primarily thinking workshops and think tanks, in addition to the responsible and creative carrying out of their tasks, have felt the need to involve some researchers in the field of theology in the preparation of a focused and real growth path about the future of Christian thought in relation to the communication of faith and the form of theology in the ecclesial, human and civil context, that after the pandemic will have to let go of some clichés of a Christian era that is waning and of the new kairos of the human condition that is announced.

The path that will follow begins with a call entitled “Rescuing fraternity – Together. A call to faith and reflection”  and with a series of events with the purpose of triggering a “polyphony” of counterpoint and developments of this double question. Could our theology have a future worthy of its tradition? And vice versa: could the future we’ll live in have a theology worthy of its kairos? The question is addressed to all those who are interested, in different ways, in reasoning about what "makes you wonder" starting from religious experience and the testimony of faith, and it is meant to involve in this encounter, on an equal footing, believing intellectuals who are loyally willing to regard the word of God - and the word “God” - as a common good and not as a private property.

We will begin with a hundred theologians and a hundred intellectuals confronting each other. Theology accepts direct dialogue with the thought and evidence of history, to do justice to the logos of hope that faith brings to the humans, with the transparency of an intellectual loyalty that must represent a point of honor for the understanding of faith. This dialogue is not limited to its followers. The hope that unites us, in fact, is at least this: that of helping each other, together, not to live on Earth ferociously and in vain. For that very reason, we want to honor the mystery of an origin and a destination common to us all.

(Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, May 5th 2021)