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1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Where the Thought Is Born
The year 2023 was in many ways a milestone in the history of Pázmány Péter
Catholic University (PPCU), especially because His Holiness Pope Francis
visited the Faculty of Information Technology and Bionics (PPCUFITB).
He began his speech with’ a metaphor related to the Danube, according to
which the river connects countries, peoples and cultures in a geographical
and historical sense, just like culture.
In his address at our university (PPCU) on April 30, 2023, His Holiness
emphasized that in the contemporary, rapidly evolving world, where human
interactions with technology increasingly foster a one-dimensional existence,
community engagement is diminishing, and individuals are becoming
desensitized, with the erosion of national languages and cultures occurring
under the guise of universal peace. Consequently, the role of culture and the
universities in preserving and promoting cultural identity becomes increasingly
vital.
“The university, as its name suggests, is the place where thought is born,
grows and matures, is open and symphonic in nature; not monotonous,
not closed, but open and symphonic This is the temple where knowledge
is called to free itself from the narrow limits of possession and accumulation,
to become a culture, that is, to be a ‘cultivation’ of man and the relationships
that underpin him: with the supernatural, with society, with history, with
creation. In this regard, the Second Vatican Council states that culture
must serve the complete perfection of the personality, the good of the
community and of the whole human race. For this reason, the spirit must
be cultivated in such a way as to increase its capacity for admiration, for
insight, for contemplation, for independent judgment, and for the
> Pope Francis, Address to Academics and Cultural Representatives: “The Key to Truth Is Knowledge”
(speech, Pazmany Péter Catholic University, Budapest, 30 April 2023), Magyar Kurir, https://
www.magyarkurir. hu/hirek/ferenc-papa-az-egyetemi-es-kulturalis-elet-kepviseloihez-az¬
igazsag-kulcsa-megismeres.
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