On November 23, Pope Francis sent a video message to the members of the Pontifical Council for Culture as they held a virtual plenary assembly on the theme of “rethinking anthropology: toward a new humanism.”

In the 1960s, “a secular, immanentist, materialist humanism came face to face with a Christian one, open to transcendence,” Pope Francis said in his message. “Both, however, could share a common basis, a fundamental convergence on some radical questions related to human nature. This has now disappeared because of the fluidity of the contemporary cultural vision.”

The Pope called for a renewed “biblical and classical humanism” that draws on the ancient Greek and Latin tradition as well as on contemporary cultures. The Pope cited the “holistic vision of Asian cultures,” the “solidarity of African cultures,” the sense of family and celebration in Latin America, and the cultures of indigenous peoples around the world.