Pope Leo in the catechesis entitled Hoping is not knowingdedicated to the figure of the fifteenth century cardinal and philosopher Nicola Cusano, recalled that Jubilee pilgrims “are called to inhabit a new world”, looking at everything in the light of the resurrection of the Crucifix: “It is in this hope that we are saved”. However, he added, “the eyes are not used to it”: even today, as then, “things are not as they seem”. Despite the contrasts and clashes between opposites, “love won”.
The thinker of unity
Leone wanted to remember the figure of Nicholas of Cusa, “a great thinker and servant of unity” of the 15th century, “still little known today”. Born in Kues, Germany, Cusano “could not see the unity of the Church, shaken by opposing currents and divided between East and West”, nor peace between religions in a time of conflicts and threats. “While he was traveling as the Pope’s diplomat, he prayed and thought,” explained the Pontiff. From that reflection were born writings “full of light”, because they were founded on a hope that knew how to look beyond appearance.
“Learned ignorance” and questioning faith
In an era marked by fear and weapons, Cusano chose instead to associate with “those who had hope”, those who returned “to the sources” and “explored new disciplines”. He believed in humanity and in the ability to hold opposites together, realizing that “God is a mystery in which what is in tension finds unity.” For Cusanus, “knowing that you do not know” was a form of spiritual intelligence. His famous “learned ignorance” found voice in a symbolic character: the idiot“a simple person who has not studied and asks scholars elementary questions, capable of undermining their certainties”.
The Church and the questions of the world
«It is also like this in the Church today», observed the Pope. «How many questions put our teaching in crisis! Questions from young people, from the poor, from women, from those who have been silenced or condemned because they are different from the majority”. For the Pontiff this is “a blessed time”: the Church “becomes an expert in humanity if it walks with humanity and has the echo of its questions in its heart”.
Walking in hope
Finally, the Pope urged the faithful to rediscover the authentic meaning of Christian hope: «Hoping is not knowing. We don’t already have the answers to all the questions. However, we have Jesus. Let us follow Jesus.” Only in this way, he concluded, will the Church be able to become “a people in which opposites are composed in unity”, advancing “one step after another into the new world of the Risen One”. It is «a journey not only of the Church, but of all humanity. A journey of hope.”
