6 October 2011
Pope Benedict’s recent speech in the German Parliament was another reminder to European politicians that secularism and the absence of God from the ‘public space’ carries with it a real risk of further damaging the fabric of an already damaged European society.
Coming hard on the heels of a similar polite but blunt warning to the UK in September 2010, it is clear that the Pope has a clear agenda that he believes is worth pursuing. For many years now, this Pope in particular has been concerned about Europe’s rejection of faith; much of this rejection is mirrored – he believes – in society’s attraction to a much more selfish modus Vivendi and an unwillingness to face up to its historical roots, including the role of Christianity in shaping European civilisation. A particularly insidious development has been the march of relativity and the more fashionable aspects of liberalism which places few constraints on individual behaviour except the old mantra of not doing harm to others.
A key aspect of this negative development is that traditional concepts of what is truth has been replaced by subjective perspectives of individual feelings – as if honestly held beliefs are in some way the same as truth. I think it was perhaps the philosopher Reinhold Niebuhr who asked how one can know what is morally wrong when you do not know what is objectively right.
Why is Pope Benedict’s message so relevant today? Part of the answer lies in a recognising that society is no longer sure what to believe in regarding our current economic climate. The bankers, financial houses and politicians who contributed to the current strife are still reluctant to be honest with their electorates – how did we get into this mess, what is the extent of the damage done and what are the consequences of a future where economic depression will be a way of life for many years to come?
However, the other part of the answer surely lies in the uncomfortable truth that our past decades of personal spending and consumption – much of it seemingly based on debt – has not only fuelled financial mismanagement on a grand scale but has contributed to a society that only knows pleasure through the acquisition of material goods and services. In short, we are what we buy!
Behind the Pope’s warnings is a clear concern that modern liberalism and the cult of the individual – which has trumpeted the message that God is dead – enjoy yourself – is actually collapsing under its own inconsistencies. You can see examples of this every day, as the rights of some groups trample the rights of others in the name of ‘justice’ or ‘egalitarianism’.
The challenge for the Catholic Church and this philosopher Pope in particular is how to best challenge society to stop and think. For the moment, it has been trying to do this with measured interventions at the political level. However, perhaps the next logical step is for the Catholic Church – and possibly others – to return to their early traditions and heritage and seek to work from the bottom up. After all, it worked the last time!