Vatican's Cardinal Fernández Urges ‘Intellectual Humility’ at Plenary for the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith

Cardinal Fernández Urges ‘Intellectual Humility’ at DDF Plenary Opening

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), opened the group’s plenary session on Tuesday with a call for caution and humility. Drawing on St. Bonaventure, his meditation—titled “Do Not Ask the Light, but the Fire”—warned that no human, even with advanced technology, can grasp the "totality" of reality.

The Cardinal cautioned that a lack of intellectual humility historically leads to "terrible deceptions," citing the Inquisition and modern conflicts as examples of justifications built on fallacious logic. He urged theologians and DDF members to embrace their limitations, seek truth collectively, and maintain a "healthy realism" when issuing authoritative Church documents.

Key Quotes from Cardinal Fernández

“Even with the help of the most powerful technologies imaginable, it is impossible for a human mind to be aware of reality in its totality and in every one of its aspects,” he said. “This is possible only for God.” “Consequently, we are incapable of interpreting all the meanings and nuances of a reality, a person, a historical moment, or a truth,” he said.

If we fail in intellectual humility, he added, we risk falling into a “a terrible deception—indeed, the very same one that led to the excesses of the Inquisition, the world wars, the Shoah, and the massacres in Gaza: all of which rely on fallacious arguments for their justification.” He joined Pope Leo XIV in saying that “no one possesses the whole truth; we must all humbly seek it together.”

Theologians especially, said the Cardinal, must be aware of their limited knowledge, since the “mysteries of faith are interwoven in a rich hierarchy,” in which the whole is illuminated by the truths at the heart of the Gospel. “In a place such as this, where we have the possibility of giving authoritative answers, of writing documents that become part of the Ordinary Magisterium, and even of correcting and condemning, the risk of losing the breath of our perspective is greater,” he said. “That is why we must recover, throughout the whole Church, that healthy realism proposed by the Church’s great sages and mystics.”

In conclusion, Cardinal Fernández invited DDF Members, with St. Bonaventure, to pray for the gift of interior silence, so that they may “be granted the experience of that about which we have spoken.”

Theological Summary

Seeking the Fire: Cardinal Fernández on the Limits of Theological Knowledge

In a meditation delivered to the DDF plenary assembly, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández emphasized that "where there is humility, there is wisdom." He argued that because all reality is interconnected, human beings are inherently incapable of interpreting every nuance of a historical moment or theological truth.

Key Themes from the Meditation:

• The Deception of Certainty: A lack of humility can lead to the same intellectual errors that fueled the Inquisition and world wars.

• Collaborative Truth: Quoting Pope Leo XIV, he noted that "no one possesses the whole truth" and it must be sought together.

• Interior Silence: He concluded by inviting members to move beyond academic discourse and seek an "experience" of God through prayer and silence.