When Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger — now Pope Benedict XVI — spoke of a looming “dictatorship of relativism” in the much-noted homily he preached to the cardinals on April 18, just before the conclave at which they elected him pope, what was he talking about?
It's a crucial question, for to understand the thought of Benedict XVI it is necessary to understand his abhorrence of relativism.
Moreover, since nearly any idea Pope Benedict has ever expressed is at risk of being coarsened and distorted by the progressive element in the Church, the effort to get this one straight is especially needed. An anecdote may help.
Someone I know well recently told me that on his vacation he read The DaVinci Code, Dan Brown's wildly popular anti-Christian thriller. “I hope that you enjoyed it,” I said, “and that you didn't believe a word.”
“Well,” he answered, slightly miffed, “anyway it's a reminder that history gets written by the winners. There's another side to every story.”
Here was the authentic voice of popularized deconstructionism. There's no such thing as real, objective, historical truth. Every group spins the story its own way to serve its own interests. What we naively used to call “the truth of history” doesn't exist. (Unless you care to believe that writers of potboiler fiction like Dan Brown have privileged access to it.)
And that is relativism of the deconstructionist kind.
Then there's moral relativism. It comes in two varieties — cultural relativism and individualistic relativism. According to the former, particular cultures create their own moralities. So, for instance, some cultures once approved of cannibalism while others did not. Cannibalism was OK in those cultures that approved it, wrong in those that didn't.
Individualistic relativism works in very much the same way, but on the personal level. For example: Jack thinks abortion is acceptable; Jill does not. Jack is just as entitled to his view as Jill is to hers. And if you ask me which is right — who am I to judge?
The difficulty with relativism of either kind, cultural or individual, is that it renders rational debate about the morality of human behavior impossible and leaves the settlement of disagreements in the coercive hands of the law.
The activism of courts on issues like abortion and same-sex marriage is a nasty instance of that. Never mind trying to win approval for what you wish to do through the political process. After all, it is entirely possible that you won't get what you want. Just find a court willing to say your “right” to do as you please lurks in some previously unexplored corner of the Constitution. This also is relativism at work.
Relativism in the sphere of religion is widespread these days. One religion is as good as another, is it not? God looks with equal favor on them all, and a religion that makes serious truth-claims for itself is intolerant.
Several years ago Cardinal Ratzinger and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith brought a firestorm of relativist criticism on their heads with a document reaffirming the unique role of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church in God's redemptive plan. This was news? In an age of relativism, it apparently was.
As a frontal assault on the very possibility of objective truth, relativism is by far the most destructive intellectual current of our times. It turns both private and public life into moral swamps. Pope Benedict has battled relativism for many years. As he continues the struggle now as leader of the Church, he deserves encouragement and support.
Russell Shaw is a freelance writer from Washington, D.C. You can email him at RShaw10290@aol.com.
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