H
HagiaSophia
Guest
"…Aware of this situation in Europe, Ratzinger issued a very interesting statement a week prior to his inauguration: “Having a clear faith based on the Creed of the Church is often labeled today as a fundamentalism, whereas relativism, which is letting oneself be tossed and ‘swept along by every wind of teaching,’ looks like the only attitude [acceptable] to today’s standards. We are moving towards a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one’s own ego and one’s own desires.” This “dictatorship of relativism” says Ratzinger, removes any sense of “absolute truth” in the world and frees us from social or moral obligation and judgment.
It is perfectly clear the Pope, the papacy and the Catholic Church hold certain fundamental positions on issues such as birth control, abortion, gay marriage and paths to salvation, and it is not my position to argue for or against them in this column. However, Benedict does raise a series of questions that merit considerable thought – can too much pluralism, or too many conduits of thought and opinion lead to instability and the breakdown of the social fabric of community? Does globalization make us one global community, or does it make everyone a community to themselves? Does formal and traditional structure and organization such as organized religion contain the cultural glue to reinforce positive social values and moral beliefs, especially in an age of globalization? If Benedict’s growing popularity has any indication on how he will address these issues, it shows that Europeans and the global community at large, still seek moral and spiritual guidance in a world that is increasingly populated by diverse sets of beliefs and choices. Synthesizing the Catholic Church back into the modern Western European social fabric could be Benedict’s greatest challenge, but if successful, could be his greatest legacy."
dailytargum.com/media/paper168/news/2005/11/15/Opinions/Benedict.Xvi.As.Pope.Global.Leader-1057121.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.dailytargum.com
It is perfectly clear the Pope, the papacy and the Catholic Church hold certain fundamental positions on issues such as birth control, abortion, gay marriage and paths to salvation, and it is not my position to argue for or against them in this column. However, Benedict does raise a series of questions that merit considerable thought – can too much pluralism, or too many conduits of thought and opinion lead to instability and the breakdown of the social fabric of community? Does globalization make us one global community, or does it make everyone a community to themselves? Does formal and traditional structure and organization such as organized religion contain the cultural glue to reinforce positive social values and moral beliefs, especially in an age of globalization? If Benedict’s growing popularity has any indication on how he will address these issues, it shows that Europeans and the global community at large, still seek moral and spiritual guidance in a world that is increasingly populated by diverse sets of beliefs and choices. Synthesizing the Catholic Church back into the modern Western European social fabric could be Benedict’s greatest challenge, but if successful, could be his greatest legacy."
dailytargum.com/media/paper168/news/2005/11/15/Opinions/Benedict.Xvi.As.Pope.Global.Leader-1057121.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.dailytargum.com