“In this time of the internet, digital and artificial intelligence, this day and so many other acts are important because they help us make sense of things” - Bishop José Cordeiro

The Archbishop of Braga highlighted the university's incentive to “be human” in this time of Artificial Intelligence (AI), internet and digital, this Wednesday, February 26, at the solemn session of the Academic Day of the Portuguese Catholic University (UCP) - Braga.

“At a time when we are living in the time of the internet, digital and artificial intelligence, this day and so many other acts are important because they help us to make sense of things. The meaning of life and the university in integral humanity, in fact, as close as possible, in knowledge and science,” said Archbishop José Cordeiro, at the end of the session, in the master class of the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences (FFCS), of UCP-Braga, quoted by the diocesan newspaper ‘Diário do Minho’.

The Archbishop of Braga encouraged the Portuguese Catholic University to “be human” in a time of AI, internet and digital, because “this is the challenge of a university and a Catholic University”, which simultaneously promotes knowledge, “knowing how to do” and “knowing how to be”.

The Portuguese Catholic University at the Braga regional center held its Academic Day with the aim of “uniting the Academic Community in a day of celebration”, rewarding the best students and paying tribute to employees celebrating 25 and 40 years of service and retirees.

“It's a joy to participate in Campus Day, valuing the community itself, the encounter, the relationship, which is increasingly fundamental and decisive due to the complexity of life itself and also within the university,” said Bishop José Cordeiro.

D. José Cordeiro highlighted the Holy See's 'Antiqua et nova' (old and new) note on the relationship between AI and human intelligence, a joint document of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Dicastery for Culture and Education, and said that “from the perspective of wisdom, believers will be in a position to act as responsible agents”.

“Able to use this technology to promote an authentic vision of the human person and society, starting from an understanding of technological progress as part of God's plan for creation, an activity that humanity is called to order, up to the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ, in the constant search for truth and goodness,” said the Archbishop of Braga, patron of the UCP's Braga Campus, according to the newspaper ‘Diário do Minho’.

The program for UCP Academic Day - Braga 2025 also included, after the solemn ceremony, a series of workshops for students, promoted by the various groups at this campus of the Portuguese Catholic University - such as the radio station, the Psychology Student Group, Community Service, the Social Work Student Commission - Ser Social and the Academic Center, with the support of the UCP4SUCCESS Project - and a conference by Onésimo Teotónio de Almeida, from Brown University (USA), on his most recent book 'Diálogos Lusitanos', in the Isidro Alves Auditorium.

A Universidade Católica Portuguesa comemorou o seu Dia Nacional 2025, que se assinala anualmente no primeiro domingo do mês de fevereiro, com o mote ‘O saber como esperança’.