Explorations in the Theology of Benedict XVI

Chapter 2: Culture and Conscience in the Thought of Joseph Ratzinger / Pope Benedict XVI

63 chapte r t w o CULTURE AND CONSCIENCE IN THE THOUGHT OF JOSEPH RATZINGER/ POPE BENEDICT XVI P e t er C asar el l a Benedict XVI’s opposition to the “dictatorship of relativism” derives from a homily delivered in St. Peter’s Basilica on the eve of the conclave at which he was elected pope.Too often the phrase is taken as if it were a blast from a bunker in the U.S. culture wars. It cries out for deeper analysis. Such an analysis would show the then-cardinal’s engagement with actual forms of dictatorship,his keen awareness of different forms of relativism, and his profound grasp of the complex language and reality of bearing witness to the truth.The phrase “dictatorship of relativism” aptly captures his concern that the question of truth cannot be shunted to the side or managed solely through the techniques of public relations. Truth has to be considered in its very foundations.The phrase provokes thought, not just for Catholics, but for the whole human family. w 64 Peter Casarella The phrase also highlights the deep connection between the question of culture and moral principles. This essay deals with the question of Pope Benedict XVI’s theology of culture and the place of moral reasoning in it. He speaks often about the failure of moralism. He means that it is impossible to address moral conflicts by ignoring either the true breadth of reason or the concrete demands being placed on the “living ‘we’” of the Christian community.1 As with “dictatorship of relativism,” Pope Benedict’s genius lies in his ability to find a concrete configuration that offers a living synthesis. The fruit of his meditation is not an abstract system but, like that of the gospel itself, is a word that performs and an action that speaks. The thesis that I would like to defend is that the Holy Father prioritizes conscience in a nonmoralistic fashion in his treatment of the relationship of faith and culture. In June 2011, in his address to cultural leaders in Zagreb, he described conscience as “the keystone on which to base a culture and build up the common good.” He continued , “It is by forming consciences that the Church makes her most specific and valuable contribution to society.”2 Conscience is accordingly a key to cultural renewal in a way that implies both personal and social transformations. My argument has three parts. I begin with the basic outlines of Joseph Ratzinger’s theology of culture and focus on how he links the foundations of moral reasoning to a phenomenology of culture and interculturality. In the second part, I focus on his theory of conscience and try to show where cultural formation fits into it. I conclude by considering witnessing to the truth. For Pope Benedict, I maintain, the witness to truth is the key to seeing how culture and conscience are necessarily intertwined. CULTURE: THE DYNAMIC OF ADVENT In his study of the philosophy of culture, Ratzinger likens the dynamic within culture to the phenomenon of advent. The comment derives from the study of Virgil by Theodor Haecker, who is much esteemed by Ratzinger.Haecker was an ardent opponent of fascism in Culture and Conscience 65 Germany who earned fame for his translations of Kierkegaard and Newman. Fr. D. Vincent Twomey, S.V.D., in his fine book on Pope Benedict rightly suggests, in my opinion, its wider applicability to Benedict’s theology of culture.3 Accordingly, the fullest sense of progress within a culture is progress made toward the revelation of a Redeemer. Progress here is defined in unsecular terms. Ratzinger questions notions of social progress that have become untethered from belief in God and ties real progress to a challenging and selfcritical process of intercultural dialogue. For Ratzinger, all cultures are in some fashion religious. Most reach a crisis when agents of social change submit the religious element to critical inquiry.Ratzinger counters the Enlightenment model of criticism, namely, that of gradual emancipation from self-imposed tutelage and the undue influence of religious institutions, without ignoring its potential benefits. The idea that religion and culture are separate spheres, he says, is an invention of relatively modern European vintage.This secularizing norm does not prevail in other cultures and in other periods.4 Ratzinger defines culture as “the social form of expression, as it has grown up in history, of...