Vatican City, Nov 10, 2008 / 09:49 am
On Saturday, Pope Benedict met with participants in a congress titled, “The Heritage of Pius XII's Magisterium and Vatican Council II.” During the event, the Pontiff called to mind Pius XII’s teachings, his relationship with Christ, and his influence on the Church.
The conference was held from November 6-8 and organized by the Pontifical Gregorian and Lateran Universities, and came to a close with Pope Benedict’s remarks on the impact Pius XII had on the Church through his writings and teachings.
Pope Benedict XVI explained that along with his 40 encyclicals, the late Pontiff spoke of the “responsibility of the laity within the Church” and “the great importance of the modern communications media,” especially “journalists' duty to provide factual information respectful of moral norms."
Pius XII also warned against the progress of science impacting morality, the Holy Father pointed out. Though he was a great admirer of technology, he never failed to “caution against the risks that research could bring if inattentive to moral values," and "warned of the need to prevent at all costs the possibility of brilliant scientific advances being used to build deadly arms which could cause immense catastrophes and even the complete destruction of mankind."