Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi spoke at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples for a lectio organised as part of the "Dialoghi in Prefettura" initiative by Prefect Michele di Bari. The meeting was dedicated to the human person and contemporary society and took place before an audience of students.
The central message attributed to Ravasi was that technology and science, on their own, are not sufficient. According to the reports, they need to remain in dialogue with art, poetry, feeling, the liberal arts and the humanities.
Fragility alongside human intelligence
During the lectio, Ravasi connected the complexity and greatness of human intelligence with fragility and vulnerability. The reports present this pairing as part of a broader reflection on human nature.
He also addressed freedom, truth, good and evil, as well as fake news and post-truth. The theme of the meeting was the relationship between the human person and contemporary society.
Students and the question of truth
The presence of students gave the discussion a direct educational context. The reported focus on truth, fake news and post-truth relates to the information environment young people encounter, where scientific and technological tools circulate alongside unreliable claims.
Ravasi's reported argument was not against science or technology. It was that they do not stand alone: poetry, art and the humanities belong to a fully human form of knowledge.
A civic framing
Prefect Michele di Bari linked a "sapienziale" culture to social relations based on good conduct, legality and respect for others. That framing places the lectio in a civic context, not only a cultural one: culture is presented as connected to how people live together.
The meeting also included a thought for the hospitalized Pontiff.
