List of points

Since you want to acquire a Catholic or universal mentality, here are some characteristics you should aim at:

—a breadth of vision and a vigorous endeavour to study more deeply the things that are permanently alive and unchanged in Catholic orthodoxy;

—a proper and healthy desire, which should never be frivolous, to present anew the standard teachings of traditional thought in philosophy and the interpretation of history…;

—a careful attention to trends in science and contemporary thought;

—and a positive and open attitude towards the current changes in society and in ways of living.

It is painful to see that some people are less concerned with learning and taking possession of the treasures acquired by science than they are in spending their time tailoring them to their own taste through a more or less arbitrary process.

But being aware of this must lead you to redouble your effort to go more deeply into the truth.

It is easier to write against people carrying out research, or against those who make new discoveries in science or technology, than to do the research oneself. —But we should not allow those “critics” to pretend at the same time to set themselves up as absolute lords of wisdom who can govern the opinions of the ignorant.

“I just don’t see that, it is not at all obvious”, he said in response to the certain statements of the others… And the obvious thing was his own ignorance.

Doubt, whether it concerns the field of knowledge or the good name of others, is a plant that is easily sown but very difficult to root out.