Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
SYRACUSE – The academic year at the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences (ISSR) San Metodio has officially begun in Syracuse with a day of study and prayer focused entirely on the value and challenges of freedom in the contemporary era.
The opening ceremony began with a Eucharistic celebration presided over by the Archbishop of Syracuse, Monsignor Francesco Lomanto, and concelebrated by the Bishop of Caltagirone, Calogero Peri.
Monsignor Lomanto: “Educational alliance in the digital age”
In his homily, Monsignor Lomanto drew attention to the pitfalls of the digital context, quoting key passages from Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas:
“In his recent encyclical, Pope Leo XIV encourages reflection on freedom in the age of artificial intelligence, highlighting the risk of social control and invisible manipulation. When digital systems shape opinions and desires, freedom is undermined and the most vulnerable are discriminated against. As an academic community, we are at the forefront of addressing the educational challenge in a time of dramatic dependencies. Our institute can provide critical tools to distinguish the instrument from the person, and calculation from mystery.”
— Monsignor Francesco Lomanto, Archbishop of Syracuse
The director of San Metodio, Don Salvatore Spataro, in the presence of the delegate of the Pontifical Theological Faculty of Sicily Antonio Parisi, presented the study programme and the symbolic image for the academic year – reworked by Professor Fausto Migneco and inspired by Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam – stressing the urgency of fostering an educational alliance capable of guiding young people amid the tumultuous influence of algorithms.
Franco Nembrini’s keynote: “Young people need adults to set an example”
The keynote address was delivered by the educationalist and essayist Franco Nembrini, who analysed the deep disorientation of the younger generation linked to a flawed understanding of autonomy and respect for rules:
“The future of the new generation hinges on freedom. True freedom is not simply the ability to choose, but the energy with which a person embraces the truth they have recognised and loved. Young people want the right path, but they need to see it. It is a question of signals: their hearts are ready to respond, but the adult world is not sending a strong enough signal to ignite them.”
— Franco Nembrini, Educationalist and essayist
Nembrini highlighted how incidents of youth incivility or violence reported in the news are often the result of the value confusion conveyed by adults, reiterating the need to rediscover a strong sense of educational responsibility.
