A stale secularism and
a contemporary Pope
Translated from
Nov. 12, 2009
A comparison between the work of Benedict XVI and the verdict of the Strasbourg court on the Crucifix ia a critical reference point for the current vulgate that secularism is the correct expression of the secularity and freedom of thought that liberated the West from confessionalism and the alleged mental closedness of the Church.
Indeed, the judgment reveals the serious disconnect between the dominant culture and the real life of people - and that is why protests against it have arisen from all sides like a wave of iressistible common sense.
Above all, it shows that the dominant culture, now reduced to taking offense at religious symbols in the name of principle, is no longer capable of responding to the challenges of the contempoary world.
This is a world in which the anti-clerical and libertarian battles seem to have exhausted their momentum, because although they have disseminated, as Benedict XVI noted last Sunday, "a mentality which leads to doubting the value of the person and the goodness of life", they have also created a situation in which "one forcefully notes a widespread thirst for certainties and values".
The verdict on the Crucifix, beyond being illogical, is outdated: while the secularists are still dedicated to removing every religious sign from public spaces, the world has far more demanding issues.
Papa Ratzinger, with his continuous invitations to widen the perspectives of reason and to be open to the spiritual dimension with confidence in the truth, knows this - and shows how Christianity is capable of grasping the aspirations of contemporary man.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 13/11/2009 13:24]