In the current relativistic
culture, an idea is spreading that "there are no objective reference
points in determining what is true from what is not true, instead it is
the individual, with his or her insights and experiences , that is the
measure thereof, and so each person therefore their own truth, their own
morality. "
For Christians, however, the conscience is the human
capacity to recognize the truth, and, before that, the opportunity to
hear its call, to try and find it".
From these two visions, mentioned today by Benedict XVI,
opposing consequences emerge.
In the first case "religion and morality
tend to be confined within the sphere of the subjective, the private:
faith with its values and its behaviour, in short, is no longer entitled
to a place in public or civil life”.
While in the case of
the Christian perspective "man needs to know how to be open to the
truth and to goodness, to welcome them in a free and conscious manner."
Hence the need for "god and man to meet each other again" and for
institutions rediscover their moral roots.
The Pope's comments on "conscience", during a meeting with the
Rome Police department, was followed by the observation that in this
city, as in the rest of the world, there is "a sense of insecurity,
primarily due to social and economic instability, but also exacerbated
by a weakening of the perception of ethical principles that underpin the
law and the personal moral attitudes, which always give strength to the
rules that govern society".
At the origin of this "insecurity" is also the risk that "great
importance is given to the subjective dimension of existence. This, on
the one hand, is good because it allows man and his dignity to be the
central consideration of both historic thought and action. It must never
be forgotten, however, that man finds his dignity in the deep loving
gaze of God, in reference to Him.
Attention to the
subjective dimension is also good when it highlights the value of human
conscience. But here we also encounter a serious risk, because a
reductionist view of conscience has developed in modern thought,
according to which there are no objective reference points in
determining what is true from what is not true, instead that it is the
individual, with his or her insights and experiences, who is the measure
thereof, and each person therefore has their own truth, their own moral
code.
The most obvious consequence is that religion and morality tend
to be confined within the sphere of the subjective, the private: faith
with its values and its behaviour, in short, is no longer entitled to a
place in public or civil life.
Therefore, if on the one hand, society
attaches great importance to pluralism and tolerance, on the other,
religion tends to be gradually marginalized and considered irrelevant
and, in a sense, extraneous to the civilized world, as if it were to
limit its influence on human life".
"On the contrary, for us Christians, the true meaning of
"conscience" is the human capacity to recognize the truth, and, before
that, the opportunity to hear its call, to try and find it. man needs to
know how to be open to the truth and to goodness, to welcome them in a
free and conscious manner.
The human person, for that matter, is an
expression of a plan of love and truth: God has "planned", so to speak,
with his inner self, with his conscience, so that it can trace the
guidelines to preserve and cultivate itself and human society. "
"The new challenges that emerge on the horizon demand that God
and man may once more meet, that society and public institutions
rediscover their "soul ", their spiritual and moral roots, to give new
substance to ethical values and legal references, and then practical
action. The Christian faith and the Church can not cease to offer its
own contribution to promoting the common good and an authentic human
progress. "
SIC: AN/INT'L