VATICAN CITY -- Pope John Paul II Thursday urged university professors to leave their 'ivory tower' and join in teaching mankind to oppose violence and terror.
The pope was addressing a special audience for more than 1,000 delegates from all over Western Europe attending a 'Jubilee Pilgrimage of Men of Culture' to Rome.
Most of the delegates were university directors or professors.
'Dear friends, do not be just intellectuals who reflect upon, evaluate and contemplate the truth, closed in their individualistic ivory tower,' the pope said.
'Do not leave only isolated voices to issue messages to the conscience and to the world,' he said.
'Let you, too, be solidly involved in a prophetic commitment to the formation of receptive consciences capable of saying 'No' to death, to hate, to violence, to terror, to erroneous ways, to evil, to degradation and instead to say 'Yes' to the good and beautiful, to truth, justice, responsibility, to life, peace and love.'
'Your contribution in such a field is conspicuous,' he said. 'The young people who have a formative contact with you, politicians who listen to what you say, technicians who cannot do without you, are all helped by you to enter with wisdom and reason into a vision of life and human society, which promotes the common good of all humanity.'
