Benedict XVI speaks to artists on the occasion of the opening of an exhibit in the Paul VI Hall Atrium, July 4, 2011:
Truth and love coincide in Christ. To the extent that we draw close to Christ, in our own lives too, truth and love are blended. Love without truth would be blind; truth without love would be like "a clanging cymbal" (I Cor 13: 1). It is precisely from the union, I would like to say from the symphony, of the perfect harmony of truth and love that authentic beauty emanates, capable of eliciting admiration, marvel and true joy in the hearts of men. The world in which we live needs the truth to shine brightly and not be obscured by lies or banality; it needs love which enflames and which is not overwhelmed by pride and egotism. We need the beauty of truth and love to strike us in the intimacy of our hearts and make us more human.
Dear friends, I wish to renew to you and all artists a friendly and passionate call: do not ever separate artistic creativity from truth and from love, do not ever search for beauty far from truth and love, but with the richness of your genius, of your creative leanings, be always, courageously, seekers of the truth and witnesses to love; let truth shine brightly in your works and make their beauty elicit in the gaze and in the hearts of those who admire them, the desire and need to make their existence beautiful and true, every existence, enriching it with that treasure which is never lacking, which makes life a work of art and every man an extraordinary artist: love, truth. May the Holy Spirit, author of every beauty that is in the world, always illuminate you and guide you towards the final and lasting Beauty, that which warms our minds and our hearts and for which we wait, one day, to be able to contemplate in all its splendor. Once again, thank you for your friendship, for your presence here and for bringing a ray of this Beauty, which is God, to the world.
