Pope Benedict XVI Blog

Pope: Christianity Always Enters Into Dialogue with the Culture of Its Time

Catechesis on Tertullian


Benedict speaks about Tertullian

Vatican City, May 30, 2007 / 09:28 am (CNA).- In his general audience today, Benedict XVI resumed his series of catecheses on leading figures of the early Church, turning his attention to Tertullian. He is known as the first great Christian author to write in Latin and was born in Carthage around the year 150.

Addressing a throng of 32,000 people gathered for the audience, the Pope noted how Tertullian, "yielded vital fruits that it would be inexcusable to undervalue." His influence extended "from language and the recovery of classical culture to the identification of a shared 'Christian soul' in the world and the formulation of new prospects for human coexistence."

Tertullian "converted to Christianity because it seems he was attracted by the example of the martyrs. ... However, an overly individual search for the truth as well as the intemperance of his character gradually led him to abandon communion with the Church."

In his apologetic writings, Tertullian set two objectives for himself: "refuting the terrible accusations made by pagans against the new religion and, in a more constructive and missionary sense, communicating the Gospel message in dialogue with the culture of his time."
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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 3:41 PM