The State Visit of Pope Benedict XVI September 2010 And Its Abiding Legacy for Scotland
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The State Visit of Pope Benedict XVI September 2010
And Its Abiding Legacy for Scotland
Rationale
This resource is primarily meant for use in schools for teachers to help raise an understanding about
the significance of the Papal visit of Benedict XVI to Scotland and the United Kingdom, in September
2010. It attempts to isolate the main theological concerns that arose from this visit which are an
integral part of Benedict XVI’s teaching. More specifically, this resource could be used in the context
of continuing professional development (CPD), as part of an inset day for staff training, or even used
directly within the classroom for pupils under teacher direction. The nine themes highlighted lend
themselves to be used selectively or progressively depending on the constraints of time or special
interest. However, the target audience is by no means restricted to those who operate in a school
environment. It could include a wider educational forum from parish to catechetical groups or any
setting where there is a desire to study the thought of Benedict XVI and the teaching of the Catholic
Church, on which he expounds, to spread everywhere the radiance and “fragrance of Christ.” 1 Indeed,
as he mentions in one of his many scholarly books and in the words of one of the Church Fathers, St
Ambrose, his focus and that of the Church is invariably on Christ himself: “Let us thus conclude our
Catechesis with his same words, full of love for Jesus; ‘Omnia Christus est nobis”! To us Christ is
all!2
1
Benedict XVI, General Audience, Apostolic Journey to the United Kingdom, Saint Peter’s Square Wednesday, 22 September 2010.
2
Benedict XVI Pope (2008) Church Fathers from Clement of Rome to Augustine, Ignatius Press, San Francisco. 126-127.
1
Introduction
Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Scotland’s capital city, Edinburgh, on the Feast of St Ninian September
16th 2010, to start a four day state visit to the United Kingdom. He remarked to journalists on route
from Rome in a midflight press conference that “the State visit is substantially and essentially a
pastoral visit, a visit in the responsibility of the faith for which the Supreme Pontiff, the Pope,
exists.” 3 It is in this way that the visit should be interpreted and understood, as successor to St Peter,
his role is to strengthen the faithful in that same Christian faith whose seed had been first sown in
Scotland over 1600 years ago. 4 Later, back in Rome he would reflect on his pilgrimage and referred to
it as “my unforgettable journey to the United Kingdom,” 5 indicating how the visit had touched him
personally whilst consolidating the ancient ties between the Vatican and the British Isles: “It was an
official visit and at the same time a pilgrimage to the heart of the past and of the present of a people
rich in culture and faith, as is the British people. It was an historic event that marked a new and
important phase in the long and complex relations between those peoples and the Holy See.”6
The Scottish leg of his journey was characterised by the warm welcome of Her Majesty the Queen
and the Duke of Edinburgh in Scotland’s historic capital, followed by a parade and cavalcade through
Princess street, where “the joyful, festive atmosphere created by the young people and children
gladdened the visit to Edinburgh,” 7 effectively setting the tone for the remainder of the entire visit.
Later that day, he celebrated Mass in Glasgow in the presence of many bishops, priests, religious and
a great concourse of the faithful against the backdrop of a beautiful sunset at Bellahouston Park,
within sight of the place where his beloved predecessor John Paul II celebrated Mass with the Scots
twenty-eight years ago.
3
Benedict -Interview on Plane to Journalists September 16th 2010.
4
Cardinal O'Brien's Farewell Address to Pope Benedict XVI, Oscott College, Sunday, 19 September 2010 5:20pm.
5
Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI on the occasion of his Christmas Greetings to the Roman Curia. Sala Regia Monday, 20th December
2010.
6
Benedict XVI, General Audience, Apostolic Journey to the United Kingdom, Saint Peter’s Square Wednesday, 22 September 2010.
7
Ibid.
2
Cardinal O’Brien later remarked that “at the heart of your pilgrimage was the beatification of John
Henry Cardinal Newman. We are happy to acknowledge the Scottish links of the new Blessed John
Henry Newman – coming to Abbotsford in the Scottish Borders for relaxation and prayer and
celebrating Mass on the occasions of his visits.” 8 More significantly still, the Cardinal wisely
commented that the words of Pope Benedict XVI uttered in his many speeches, homilies and
addresses, “will be studied and used to fortify us all in the faith passed on to us through the ages by
the apostles and delivered over these four great days by the successor of Peter himself,” 9 thereby
placing the words of Benedict XVI in the widest educational context possible for future reference and
for future generations.
Pope Benedict’s XVI Mission
To understand the style and character of his pontificate it would be better to come to terms with
Benedict’s XVI own self-understanding of his purpose and role. He refers to himself as a “professor
Pope” 10 thereby alluding to his long and distinguished academic career as a theologian. What makes
his theology distinctive is that it has “a somewhat biblical character and also bears the stamp of the
Fathers, especially Augustine.” 11 His study of the Church is crucial to his thought but it is primarily
with the purpose of “opening a vista onto God,” 12 for it is the mission of the Church to communicate
God’s revelation of himself in the person and historical event of Jesus Christ. It is this “theme of
Christ, as the living, present God, the God who loves us and heals us through suffering, and, on the
other hand, the theme of love” 13 which is the key to approach Christianity. This is why the Gospel of
St John became the inspiration for his first papal Encyclical Deus Caritas Est (God is Love). Yet he
clarifies that the fundamental impulse throughout his ecclesial life, that which has given it its basic
8
Cardinal O’Brien’s Farewell Address to Pope Benedict XVI Oscott College, Sunday, 19 September 2010 5:20pm.
9
Ibid.
10
Benedict XVI (2010), Light of the World. The Pope, the Church, and the Signs of the Times, Ignatius Press, San Francisco,78.
11
Ratzinger, Joseph, Cardinal, (Pope Benedict XVI) (2007 d), Salt of The Earth. The Church at the End of the Millennium. An Interview
with Peter Seeward, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 66. In an address to seminarians at Rome’s major seminary in February 2007, he
reminisced about his own seminary studies: “I was fascinated from the beginning especially by the figure of St Augustine and then also the
school of St Augustine in medieval times, St Bonaventure, the great Franciscans, and the figure of St Francis.” Quoted in Rausch, Thomas
P. (2009) Pope Benedict XVI. An Introduction to His Theological Vision. Paulist Press, New York, 41.
12
Ratzinger, 2007 d, 65-66.
13
Benedict XVI,2010, 102.
3
direction, is the desire “to free up the authentic kernel of the faith from encrustations and to give this
kernel strength and dynamism.” 14An essential role of the papal office is, therefore, an evangelical
impulse to guard the apostolic word through the facility of memory. “The true meaning of the
teaching authority of the pope is that he is the advocate of Christian memory. He does not impose
something from the outside but develops and defends Christian memory.” 15
This desire to protect the faith in the authenticity of its transmission is perhaps best illustrated by
referring to an analogy he uses in his own book ‘An Introduction to Christianity.’ It is the story of
‘Clever Hans’ who exchanges a precious lump of Gold (which represents the purity of the Christian
faith) in a series of transactions until he exchanges it for something baseless and of no worth. “The
lump of Gold that was too heavy and troublesome for him he exchanged successively, so as to
become more comfortable, for a horse, a cow, a pig, a goose, and a whetstone, which he finally threw
into the water, still without losing much; on the contrary, what he now gained in exchange, so he
thought was the precious gift of complete freedom.....And will poor Jack, the Christian who trustingly
let himself be led from exchange to exchange, from interpretation to interpretation, not really soon
hold in his hand, instead of Gold with which he began, only a whetstone that he can safely be advised
to throw away?” 16 This story succinctly demonstrates that the Christian faith in today’s world can
easily be seen as a burden and thus far better exchanged for something more convenient and of
immediate value, albeit losing its intrinsic and lasting worth in the process.
It is with the immense burden of his office in mind, to protect the integrity and wholeness of the faith
for future generations, that he is reassured that he is not alone and without support in this task. “I do
not have to carry alone what in truth I could never carry alone. All the saints of God are there to
protect me, to sustain me and to carry me.” 17 It is this awareness and indebtedness to the communion
of saints, the living tradition of the Church, and its scriptures, which allows him to excavate with
confidence from the deposit of faith articulated by previous masters and doctors of the Church. In
particular he acknowledges a specific debt to St Augustine “a figure to whom I feel closely linked
14
Ratzinger, 2007 d, 79.
15
Ratzinger, Joseph, Cardinal, (Pope Benedict XVI) (2006) Values in a Time of Upheaval, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 95.
16
Ratzinger, Joseph, Cardinal, (Pope Benedict XVI) (2004) Introduction to Christianity, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 31.
17
Pope Benedict XVI’s Homily at his installation Mass, 24th April 2005 (Nichols, Aidan (2007), The Thought of Pope Benedict XVI, An
Introduction to the Theology of Joseph Ratzinger, Burns & Oates, London, 236).
4
because of the role he has had in my life as a theologian, priest, and pastor;” 18 And on a pilgrimage to
venerate his mortal remains at his tomb in Pavia, Italy in April 2007, he referred to him as “this great
lover of God” 19 where he wished to express not just his personal tribute but the homage of the entire
Catholic Church. 20
Here he consigned to the Church and to the world his first encyclical entitled Deus Caritas Est; (God
is Love) specifically attributing the influence of Augustine to the first half of that encyclical. On that
occasion he also wished to devote his second Encyclical Spe Salvi (In hope we are saved) which he
says was also directly influenced by Augustine’s encounter with God. 21 It is perhaps fitting that the
mission and daily life of Pope Benedict is best summarised in the words of Saint Augustine, who has
so shaped Pope Benedict’s XVI thinking that they could equally be applied to his role as supreme
pastor of the Church: “The turbulent have to be corrected, the faint-hearted cheered up, the weak
supported; the Gospel’s opponents need to be refuted, its insidious enemies guarded against; the
unlearned need to be taught, the indolent stirred up, the argumentative checked; the proud must be put
in their place, the desperate set on their feet, those engaged in quarrels reconciled; the needy have to
be helped, the oppressed to be liberated, the good to be encouraged, the bad to be tolerated; all must
be loved.” 22
Pope Benedict’s XVI Message
The Papal visit of 2010, from an educational standpoint can be reviewed by isolating nine key themes
from Pope Benedict’s XVI speeches, homilies and addresses. These capture not only his essential
18
Benedict XVI Pope, 2008, 191.
19
Ibid, 196.
20
Ibid, 191.
21
Ibid, 196.
22
Encyclical Letter Spe Salvi (29) P15 (Sermo 340, 3: PL 38, 1484; cf. F. Van der Meer, Augustine the Bishop, London and New York 1961,
268).
5
message to the people of Scotland, and the United Kingdom, but are an attempt to summarise his
theological vision for the Church at large. These nine themes are cross referenced and supported with
extracts from his other considerable corpus of writings, to indicate the continuity and profundity of his
message as the Chief teacher 23 of the Catholic Faith. However, as space is limited what follows under
each heading is only a selection and at best can only give an insight into each theme encapsulated.
However, each topic is interconnected and bears some relationship with what goes before.
Key Themes
1. The Christian Heritage of Scotland and the British Isles
2. The Dangers of Secularism and Relativism
3. The Objectivity of Truth and Conscience
4. Faith, Reason and Politics
5. Vocation and Christian Discipleship
6. Education and Catechesis
7. Holiness, Sainthood and the Life of Virtue
8. The Universal Call to Transcendence
9. Liturgy and the Work of God
1. The Christian Heritage of Scotland and the British Isles.
The name Benedict XVI selected for his pontificate has great symbolism. Taken from the Patriarch of
Western Monasticism and co-patron saint of Europe, St Benedict of Nursia, it was a powerful
23
Cardinal O’Brien’s Farewell Address to Pope Benedict XVI Oscott College, Sunday, 19 September 2010 5:20pm.
6
reminder of the indispensable Christian roots of Europe’s culture and civilization, 24 and represented
the Pope’s desire for Europeans to reconnect with their own Christian heritage. In his address to the
Queen at the greeting ceremony at the Palace of Holyrood House, Benedict XVI took the opportunity
to draw attention to the ancient Christian roots of Scotland and the role that monarchy has had for
centuries in fostering a Christian culture within in its realm. It is also significant that he alluded to the
name ‘Holyrood’ from which the Abbey, in which shadow it sits, gave the palace its name - a name
which is derived from the Holy Cross of Christ.
From His speeches
“The name of Holyroodhouse, Your Majesty’s official residence in Scotland, recalls the ‘Holy Cross’
and points to the deep Christian roots that are still present in every layer of British life. The monarchs
of England and Scotland have been Christians from very early times and include outstanding saints
like Edward the Confessor and Margaret of Scotland. As you know, many of them consciously
exercised their sovereign duty in the light of the Gospel, and in this way shaped the nation for good at
the deepest level. As a result, the Christian message has been an integral part of the language, thought
and culture of the peoples of these islands for more than a thousand years.” (Pope Benedict XVI's Speech to the
Queen Palace of Holyrood House, Edinburgh, Thursday, 16 September 2010 12pm)
“In this magnificent Abbey Church dedicated to Saint Peter, whose architecture and history speak so
eloquently of our common heritage of faith. Here we cannot help but be reminded of how greatly the
Christian faith shaped the unity and culture of Europe and the heart and spirit of the English people.”
(Pope Benedict's addresses at the Ecumenical Celebration Westminster Abbey, Friday, 17 September 2010 8:15 pm)
And from His other Writings....
On the European constitution and its lack of reference to God:-
“The claim that a mention of the Christian roots of Europe would wound the feelings of the many
non-Christians who live in this continent is not particularly convincing, since this basically involves a
historical fact that no one can seriously deny. Naturally, this historical observation also contains a
reference to the present, since the mention of the roots indicates the remaining sources of moral
orientation, which is one factor in the identity of the formation known as ‘Europe’. Who would be
offended by this? Whose identity is threatened thereby? The Muslims, who so often tend to be
mentioned in this context, feel threatened, not by the foundations of our Christian morality, but by the
cynicism of a secularized culture that denies its own foundations. Nor are our Jewish fellow citizens
offended by the reference to the Christian roots of Europe, since these roots go back to Mount Sinai
and bear the imprint of the voice that rang out on the mountain of God. We are united with the Jews in
those great basic orientations given to man by the Ten Commandments. The same applies to the
reference to God: it is not the mention of God that offends those who belong to other religions; rather,
it is the attempt to construct the human community in a manner that absolutely excludes God.”
(Christianity and the Crisis of Cultures, P.32-33)
24
General audience, Wednesday, 27 April 2005; Reflection on the name chosen: Benedict XVI. Another reason for selecting the name
Benedict was to create a spiritual bond with Benedict XV, a courageous and authentic prophet of peace, who steered the Church through
the period of turmoil caused by the First World War.
7
“Accordingly, the refusal to refer to God in the constitution is not the expression of a tolerance that
wishes to protect the non-theistic religions and the dignity of atheists and agnostics; rather it is the
expression of a consciousness that would like to see God eradicated once and for all from the public
life of humanity and shut up in the subjective sphere of cultural residues from the past. In this way,
relativism, which is the starting point of this whole process, becomes dogmatism that believes itself in
possession of the definitive knowledge of human reason, with the right to consider everything else
merely as a stage in human history that is basically obsolete and deserves to be relativized. In reality,
this means that we have need of roots if we are to survive and that we must not lose sight of God if we
do not want human dignity to disappear.” (Christianity and the Crisis of Cultures, P.44-45)
Questions for reflection, discussion and further study:
How has Christianity been a force for good in the past that has effectively shaped Scotland and its
people?
How does the ever increasing denial of our European Christian Heritage contribute to a desire to
exclude God from our world today?
How might a denial of your roots and your own history lead to a confusion of identity and a loss of
any sense of common values?
2. The Dangers of Secularism and Relativism25
25
“The school of thought known as relativism: Various names have been given to this school today: post-enlightenment thinking, post-
modernism, ‘weak thought’, deconstructionism. The labels have changed, but the target is always the same: to proclaim that there are no
grounds for our values and no solid proof or argument establishing that any one thing is better or more valid than another.” (Marcello
Pera . Quoted in: Ratzinger, Joseph (Pope Benedict XVI) and Marcello Pera (2007 a), Without Roots. The West, Relativism, Christianity,
Islam, Persus Books Group, New York, 11).
8
Pope Benedict XVI has identified secularism and relativism as twin forces in society that represent a
clear threat to the Christian faith and its practice. He was aware that the United Kingdom is a highly
secularized environment 26 with its own history of anti-Catholicism. 27 Although on one level the
secularism that at first appears tolerant of people’s freedom, an underpinning principle of modern
democracy, is in practice intolerant of attitudes towards religious belief. Christianity in particular is
marginalised, “exposed to an intolerable pressure that at first ridicules it as belonging to a perverse,
false way of thinking - and then tries to deprive it of breathing space” 28 to exist. The ‘relativist’
agenda, seeks to claim that no one is able to know the right way forward. 29 Pope Benedict XVI
reminds us that religion is in fact a guarantor of true freedom, preserving the very notion of the
dignity of the human being as being made in the image and likeness of God.
From His speeches
“The evangelization of culture is all the more important in our times, when a “dictatorship of
relativism” threatens to obscure the unchanging truth about man’s nature, his destiny and his ultimate
good. There are some who now seek to exclude religious belief from public discourse, to privatize it
or even to paint it as a threat to equality and liberty. Yet religion is in fact a guarantee of authentic
liberty and respect, leading us to look upon every person as a brother or sister.” (Pope Benedict's Homily at
Bellahouston Park 5:15 pm Glasgow, Thursday, 16 September 2010)
“Religion, in other words, is not a problem for legislators to solve, but a vital contributor to the
national conversation. In this light, I cannot but voice my concern at the increasing marginalization of
religion, particularly of Christianity, that is taking place in some quarters, even in nations which place
a great emphasis on tolerance. There are those who would advocate that the voice of religion be
silenced, or at least relegated to the purely private sphere. There are those who argue that the public
celebration of festivals such as Christmas should be discouraged, in the questionable belief that it
might somehow offend those of other religions or none.”(Pope Benedict's address to Politicians, Diplomats, Academics
and Business Leaders Westminster Hall, City of Westminster, Friday, 17 September 2010 7:10 pm)
“At the end of his life, Newman would describe his life’s work as a struggle against the growing
tendency to view religion as a purely private and subjective matter, a question of personal opinion.
Here is the first lesson we can learn from his life: in our day, when an intellectual and moral
relativism threatens to sap the very foundations of our society, Newman reminds us that, as men and
women made in the image and likeness of God, we were created to know the truth, to find in that truth
our ultimate freedom and the fulfilment of our deepest human aspirations.” (The Holy Father's Hyde Park Vigil
Address 18/09/2010 8:30 pm)
And from His other Writings....
“The secular state arose for the first time in history, abandoning and excluding as mythological any
divine guarantee or legitimation of the political element and declaring that God is a private question
that does not belong to the public sphere or to the democratic formation of the public will. Public life
26
Pope Benedict’s Address at Oscott College, Sunday, 19 September 2010 5:40pm.
27
Benedict, Interview on Plane to Journalists September 16th 2010.
28
Benedict XVI, 2010, 53.
29
Ratzinger, Joseph (Pope Benedict XVI), (2004 b), Truth and Tolerance. Christian Belief and World Religions, Ignatius Press, San Francisco,
117.
9
came to be considered the domain of reason alone, which had no place for a seemingly unknowable
God: from this perspective, religion and faith in God belonged to the domain of sentiment, not of
reason. God and His will therefore ceased to be relevant to public life”. (Without Roots. The West, Relativism,
Christianity, Islam. P.62-63)
“In recent years I find myself noting how the more relativism becomes the generally accepted way of
thinking, the more it tends toward intolerance, thereby becoming a new dogmatism. Political
correctness, whose constant pressures you have illuminated, seeks to establish the domain of a single
way of thinking and speaking. Its relativism creates the illusion that it has reached greater heights than
the loftiest philosophical achievements of the past. It prescribes itself as the only way to think and
speak – if, that is, one wishes to stay in fashion. Being faithful to traditional values and to the
knowledge that upholds them is labelled intolerance, and relativism becomes the required norm. I
think it is vital that we oppose this imposition of a new pseudo-enlightenment, which threatens
freedom of thought as well as freedom of religion.” (Without Roots. The West, Relativism, Christianity, Islam, P.128)
“So in fact relativism has become the central problem for faith in our time. It by no means appears
simply as resignation in the face of the unfathomable nature of truth, of course; rather, it defines itself
positively on the basis of the concepts of tolerance, dialectical epistemology, and freedom, which
would be limited by maintaining one truth as being valid for everyone. Relativism thus also appears as
being the philosophical basis of democracy, which is said to be founded on no one’s being able to
claim to know the right way forward; and it draws life from all the ways acknowledging each other as
fragmentary attempts at improvement and trying to agree in common through dialogue.” (Truth and
Tolerance. Christian Belief and World Religions, P.117)
“Having a clear faith, based on the Creed of the Church, is often labelled today as fundamentalism.
Whereas relativism, which is letting oneself be tossed and ‘swept along by every wind of teaching’
(Ephesians 4:14) looks like the only attitude acceptable to today’s standards. We are moving towards
a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its
highest goal one’s own ego and one’s own desires.” (Homily of Joseph Ratzinger, Dean of the college of cardinals, at the
opening of the conclave following the Death of Pope john Paul II, 19 April 2005). 30
Questions for reflection, discussion and further study:
Pope Benedict has identified secularism as a force in society that seeks to eliminate the voice of
religion and in particular that of Christianity: What instances are there to support this?
How do you understand the term a ‘dictatorship of relativism’ and what are its implications for
freedom of thought and expression?
How is Christianity a guarantor of authentic liberty?
30
Nichols, 2007, 223.
103. The objectivity of Truth and Conscience
Pope Benedict XVI speaks much about the interplay between conscience and truth. In a culture that
suggests that truth is relative and open to interpretation he wants to suggest that truth is something
objective, it lies out with ourselves and is able to be grasped. Truth is not merely assented to
intellectually but we are drawn towards it by our whole being because essentially it is something
beautiful for which we are made. However, our conscience can alert us to the presence of truth
although “we never have it; at best it has us.” 31 In any event the pursuit of the truth can be personally
costly. Benedict XVI wishes to witness to the ultimate truth of God revealed in Christ, the truth in
person who shows us the way to be human. 32 It is the darkening of this truth 33 which has become a
major problem of our age. Truth is not reliant on social custom and cultural forces of expression for it
is independent of that; “Christ called himself truth, not custom.” 34 It is the martyrs and saints who
often through consciences that suffered, 35 that are the greatest witnesses to the truth of Christianity, 36
and like them we have to learn to become seekers or pilgrims of truth, 37 for ultimately only the truth
makes us free. 38
From His speeches
“As I speak to you in this historic setting, I think of the countless men and women down the centuries
who have played their part in the momentous events that have taken place within these walls and have
shaped the lives of many generations of Britons, and others besides. In particular, I recall the figure of
Saint Thomas More, the great English scholar and statesman, who is admired by believers and non-
believers alike for the integrity with which he followed his conscience, even at the cost of displeasing
31
Benedict XVI, 2010, 50.
32
Ratzinger 2004 b, 67. “I am the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6).
33
Ratzinger, 2004 b, 66-67.
34
“In my view this is one of the rally great assertions of patristic theology.” Ratzinger, 2004, 141.
35
Ratzinger, Joseph (Pope Benedict XVI) (2008), Church, Ecumenism & Politics. New Endeavors in Ecclesiology, Ignatius Press, San
Francisco, 170.
36
Ratzinger, 2004 b, 243.
37
Ratzinger, 2004 b, 83.
38
Ratzinger, 2004 b, 258 & John 8:32.
11the sovereign whose ‘good servant’ he was, because he chose to serve God first.” (Pope Benedict’s address to
Politicians, Diplomats, Academics and Business Leaders Westminster Hall, City of Westminster, Friday, 17 September 2010 7:10 pm)
Referring to the proximity of Tyburn: “where great numbers of our brothers and sisters died for the
faith”.....“In our own time, the price to be paid for fidelity to the Gospel is no longer being hanged,
drawn and quartered but it often involves being dismissed out of hand, ridiculed or parodied. And yet,
the Church cannot withdraw from the task of proclaiming Christ and his Gospel as saving truth, the
source of our ultimate happiness as individuals and as the foundation of a just and humane society.”
(The Holy Father's Hyde Park Vigil Address 18/09/2010 8:30 pm)
“He (Newman) saw clearly that we do not so much accept the truth in a purely intellectual act as
embrace it in a spiritual dynamic that penetrates to the core of our being. Truth is passed on not
merely by formal teaching, important as that is, but also by the witness of lives lived in integrity,
fidelity and holiness; those who live in and by the truth instinctively recognize what is false and,
precisely as false, inimical to the beauty and goodness which accompany the splendour of truth,
veritatis splendor.” (The Holy Father's Hyde Park Vigil Address 18/09/2010 8:30 pm)
And From His other Writings....
“The intermediate concept that holds these two together for Newman is truth. I would not hesitate to
say that truth is the central idea in Newman’s intellectual striving. Conscience is central to his
thinking because truth is the heart of everything. In other words, the centrality of the concept of
conscience in Newman is linked to the antecedent centrality of the concept of truth; only this latter
concept allows us to understand what Newman means by ‘conscience’.” (Values in a Time of Upheaval P.85-86)
“I believe that when we speak of ‘a man of conscience’ we are referring to these attitudes. A man of
conscience is one who never purchases comfort, well-being, success, public prestige, or approval by
prevalent opinion if the price is the renunciation of truth. Here, Newman agrees with that other great
British witness to conscience St. Thomas More, who did not in the least regard conscience as the
expression of his subjective tenacity or of an eccentric heroism. He saw himself as one of those
timorous martyrs who reach the point of obeying their conscience only after hesitation and much
questioning, and this is an act of obedience to that truth which must rank higher than every social
authority and every kind of personal taste. This indicates two criteria for a genuine word spoken by
the conscience: it is not identical with one’s own wishes and taste; nor is it identical with that which is
more advantageous, socially speaking, with the consensus of a group or with the claims made by
political or societal power.” (Values in a Time of Upheaval P.87)
“Here, it is said, there are in the final analysis no objective criteria. The ultimate instance that can
decide here is therefore the subject alone, and precisely this is what the word ‘conscience’ expresses:
in this realm only the individual, with his intuitions and experiences, can decide. Newman’s
understanding of conscience is diametrically opposed to this. For him, ‘conscience’ means man’s
capacity for truth: the capacity to recognize precisely in the decision-making areas of his life –
religion and morals – a truth, the truth. At the same time, conscience – man’s capacity to recognize
truth – thereby imposes on him the obligation to set out along the path towards truth, to seek it and to
submit to it wherever he finds it. Conscience is both capacity for truth and obedience to the truth
which manifests itself to anyone who seeks it with an open heart. The path of Newman’s conversions
is a path of conscience – not a path of self-asserting subjectivity but, on the contrary, a path of
obedience to the truth that was gradually opening up to him. His third conversion, to Catholicism,
required him to give up almost everything that was dear and precious to him: possessions, profession,
12academic rank, family ties and many friends. The sacrifice demanded of him by obedience to the
truth, by his conscience, went further still.” (Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI on the occasion of his Christmas
Greetings to the Roman Curia. Sala Regia Monday, 20th December 2010)
“With deep human insight, Saint Augustine clearly showed how we are moved spontaneously, and
not by constraint, whenever we encounter something attractive and desirable. Asking himself what it
is that can move us most deeply, the saintly Bishop went on to say: ‘What does our soul desire more
passionately than truth?’Each of us has an innate and irrepressible desire for ultimate and definitive
truth. The Lord Jesus, ‘the way, and the truth, and the life’ (Jn 14:6), speaks to our thirsting, pilgrim
hearts, our hearts yearning for the source of life, our hearts longing for truth. Jesus Christ is the Truth
in person, drawing the world to himself. ‘Jesus is the lodestar of human freedom: without him,
freedom loses its focus, for without the knowledge of truth, freedom becomes debased, alienated and
reduced to empty caprice. With him, freedom finds itself.’” (Sacramentum Caritatis, Introduction 2. The Food of
Truth)
Questions for reflection, discussion and further study:
Can conscience lead to the truth that is not simply subjective?
How are the saints and martyrs, like Thomas More, prophetic witnesses to the sovereignty of
conscience?
Cardinal John Henry Newman’s life was an exemplary pursuit of the objectivity and
obedience to truth, how was this personally costly for him?
4. Faith, Reason and Politics
13Pope Benedict XVI observes that today we exist in a secular state for the first time in history which
has excluded religion on the grounds of being mythological and therefore a private and subjective
affair. 39 God has now become irrelevant which leaves reason alone to shape public life but it is reason
in a more restricted and functional sense. It accepts only that which can be proved or verified by
experimentation.40 Pope Benedict XVI reminds us that when reason cuts itself away from God and
religion it becomes blind, it recognises no other moral foundations other than its own, which results in
a situation where there are no longer any common ‘objective’ criteria for morality. 41 Human beings
are no longer seen as a gift of the creator, with an inherent dignity, but are now merely a product of
nature. 42 However, as history has shown reason without faith can all too easily open the door to
ideologies that are totalitarian in design and ultimately destructive - the dictatorships of Marxism and
Nazism. 43
However, “for believers, the world derives neither from blind chance nor from strict necessity, but
from God’s plan.” 44 Christianity itself is a religion of the Logos, 45 (reason) as the prologue to St
Johns’ Gospel declares. 46 “The world comes from reason, and this reason is a person, is love – this is
what our biblical faith tells us about God.” 47 It was no accident that Christianity emerged at a time
when it dialogued with Greek culture and adopted philosophical categories of thought that were
expressed rationally. 48 Christians are called today to refuse to allow reason to be reduced to a
functional rationality alone, for the God of reason and love is also the Judge of the world and thus the
only real guarantor of true justice. 49 Religion must allow itself to be purified and structured by
reason 50 (for faith without reason can lead to superstition or fanaticism); 51 on the other hand, faith
heals and purifies reason 52 allowing it to function correctly. Finally, faith and reason must
acknowledge their mutual need53 and work together in the field of politics for the common good,
thereby ensuring that society is just and respects the human rights of all.
From His speeches
“The central question at issue, then, is this: where is the ethical foundation for political choices to be
found? The Catholic tradition maintains that the objective norms governing right action are accessible
to reason, prescinding from the content of revelation. According to this understanding, the role of
religion in political debate is........rather to help purify and shed light upon the application of reason to
the discovery of objective moral principles. This ‘corrective’ role of religion vis-à-vis reason is not
always welcomed, though, partly because distorted forms of religion, such as sectarianism and
fundamentalism, can be seen to create serious social problems themselves. And in their turn, these
distortions of religion arise when insufficient attention is given to the purifying and structuring role of
39
Ratzinger, 2007 a, 62-63.
40
Ratzinger, Joseph, Cardinal, (Pope Benedict XVI) (2007 b), Europe Today and Tomorrow. Addressing the Fundamental Issues, Ignatius
Press, San Francisco, 94-95.
41
Ratzinger, 2004, 26.
42
Ratzinger, 2007 b, 94.
43
Ibid, 94-95.
44
Benedict XVI, of the Supreme Pontiff (2009), Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, The Vatican, Rome, 57, P32.
45
Ratzinger, Joseph (Pope Benedict XVI) (2006 a), Christianity and the Crisis of Cultures, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 49.
46
“In the beginning was the word (logos) and the word was with God, and the word was God.” (John 1:1).
47
Ratzinger, 2004, 26.
48
Ibid, 78.
49
Ratzinger, 2007 b, 97.
50
Habermas Jürgen, Ratzinger, Joseph (Pope Benedict XVI) (2006), The Dialectics of Secularization. On Reason and Secularization, Ignatius
Press, San Francisco, 77.
51
Ratzinger, 2007 b, 93-94.
52
Ratzinger, 2004 b, 136.
53
Ratzinger, 2007 b, 81.
14reason within religion. (Pope Benedict’s address to Politicians, Diplomats, Academics and Business Leaders Westminster Hall,
City of Westminster, Friday, 17 September 2010 7:10 pm)
“This is why I would suggest that the world of reason and the world of faith – the world of secular
rationality and the world of religious belief – need one another and should not be afraid to enter into a
profound and ongoing dialogue, for the good of our civilization.” (Pope Benedict's address to Politicians,
Diplomats, Academics and Business Leaders Westminster Hall, City of Westminster, Friday, 17 September 2010 7:10 pm)
“Of course, the character of a state visit focuses attention on the converging interests of politics and
religion. Politics is essentially designed to ensure justice and with justice, freedom, but justice is a
moral value, a religious value, and so faith, the proclamation of the Gospel connects with politics in
justice and here common interests are also born.”(Pope Benedict: Interview on the Plane 16th September10:00 am)
And from His other Writings....
“Europe has developed a culture that, in a manner hitherto unknown to mankind, excludes God from
public awareness. His existence may be denied altogether or considered uprovable and uncertain, and
hence, as something belonging to the sphere of the subjective choices. In either case, God is irrelevant
to public life. This purely functional rationality that has shaken the moral consciusness in a way
completely unknown to the cultures that existed previously, since it maintains that only that which can
be demonstrated experimentally is ‘rational’. Since morality belongs to a different sphere altogether, it
disappears as a specific category; but since we do after all need some kind of morality, it has to be
discovered anew in some other way.” (Christianity and the Crisis of Cultures, P.30-31)
“Augustine’s entire intellectual and spiritual development is also a valid model today in the
relationship between faith and reason, a subject not only for believers but for every person who seeks
the truth, a central theme for the balance and destiny of all men. These two dimensions, faith and
reason, should not be separated or placed in opposition; rather, they must always go hand in hand. As
Augustine himself wrote after his conversion, faith and reason are ‘the two forces that lead us to
knowledge’. In this regard, through the two rightly famous Augustinian formulas that express this
coherent synthesis of faith and reason: crede ut intelligas (‘I believe in order to understand’) -
believing paves the way to crossing the threshold of the truth - but also and inseparably, intellige ut
credas (‘I understand, the better to believe’), the believer scrutinizes the truth to be able to find God
and to believe.” (Church Fathers from Clement of Rome to Augustine, P.180)
“Here politics and faith meet. Faith by its specific nature is an encounter with the living God - an
encounter opening up new horizons extending behind the sphere of reason. But it is also a purifying
force for reason itself. From God’s standpoint, faith liberates reason from its blind spots and therefore
helps it to be ever more fully itself. Faith enables reason to do its work more effectively and to see its
proper object more clearly. This is where Catholic social doctrine has its place: it has no intention of
giving the Church power over the State. Even less is it an attempt to impose on those who do not
share the faith ways of thinking and modes of conduct proper to faith. Its aim is simply to help purify
reason and to contribute, here and now to the acknowledgement and attainment of what is just”. (Deus
Caritas Est, 28 P.15)
“And so it is plain that Christians today face a great challenge. Their task and ours is to see to it that
reason is fully functional, not just in the realm of technology and material progress in the world, but
also and especially as a faculty of truth, promoting its capacity to recognize what is good, which is a
necessary condition for law and therefore also a prerequisite for peace in the world. Our task as
15contemporary Christians is to make sure that our idea of God is not excluded from the debate about
man.......For logos means a reason that is not simply mathematical but is at the same time the
foundation and guarantee of the good. Faith in God as Logos is also faith in the creative power of
reason; it is faith in God the Creator, which means believing that man is created in the image of God
and that he therefore shares in the inviolable dignity of God himself. Here the idea of human rights
has its ultimate foundation, even though it has developed in various ways and has not always been
well received over the course of history.” (Europe Today and Tomorrow. Addressing the Fundamental Issues, P.97)
Questions for reflection, discussion and further study:
Why do faith and reason need each other?
The Augustinian formula ‘I believe in order to understand,’ suggests that the Christian faith expands
our understanding and appreciation of what is real? Does a Christian have a better grasp of reality
than others?
What contribution does faith and reason make to the world of politics and in particular to the pursuit
of justice and human rights?
5. Vocation and Christian Discipleship
Pope Benedict XVI has identified a ‘crisis of faith’ 54 that has overtaken our society where it can no
longer be taken for granted that Christian values, that were once handed down for centuries, will any
longer continue to shape our future society. With this in mind it becomes imperative that from the
ranks of the Church individuals will emerge that provide a living witness to the beauty and liberty of
the Gospel. Despite a background of growing cynicism regarding the possibility of even living a
54 The Holy Father’s Hyde Park Vigil Address 18/09/2010 8:30 pm.
16virtuous life, 55 young people in particular should listen to the voice of God in their own hearts which
will reveal this ‘definite service’ that God has in mind for them. ‘Heart speaks unto Heart’ was the
theme of the visit which had its origin in the motto taken by John Henry Newman, 56 pointing to the
quiet voice of God within. This calling or vocation is diverse as there are people, but the call is the
same - to a life of discipleship which in itself is a discipline. 57 For it is only by going beyond oneself
in following the path of discipleship that we are taken out of ourselves, and it is precisely through
being taken into service by something not made or thought out by ourselves 58 that we find truth and
freedom. In the final analysis the Christian life is not an idea but a way, “the encounter with an event,
a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction,” 59 the way of Jesus Christ.
From His speeches
“How much contemporary society needs this witness! How much we need, in the Church and in
society, witnesses of the beauty of holiness, witnesses of the splendour of truth, witnesses of the joy
and freedom born of a living relationship with Christ! One of the greatest challenges facing us today
is how to speak convincingly of the wisdom and liberating power of God’s word to a world which all
too often sees the Gospel as a constriction of human freedom, instead of the truth which liberates our
minds and enlightens our efforts to live wisely and well, both as individuals and as members of
society.” (Westminster Cathedral, Saturday, 18 September 2010 11:00 am)
“Here I wish to say a special word to the many young people present. Dear young friends: only Jesus
knows what ‘definite service’ he has in mind for you. Be open to his voice resounding in the depths of
your heart: even now his heart is speaking to your heart. Christ has need of families to remind the
world of the dignity of human love and the beauty of family life. He needs men and women who
devote their lives to the noble task of education, tending the young and forming them in the ways of
the Gospel. He needs those who will consecrate their lives to the pursuit of perfect charity, following
him in chastity, poverty and obedience, and serving him in the least of our brothers and sisters. He
needs the powerful love of contemplative religious, who sustain the Church’s witness and activity
through their constant prayer. And he needs priests, good and holy priests, men who are willing to lay
down their lives for their sheep. Ask our Lord what he has in mind for you! Ask him for the
generosity to say “yes!” (The Holy Father's Hyde Park Vigil Address 18/09/2010 8:30 pm)
“Newman, like the countless saints who preceded him along the path of Christian discipleship, taught
that the ‘kindly light’ of faith leads us to realize the truth about ourselves, our dignity as God’s
children, and the sublime destiny which awaits us in heaven. By letting the light of faith shine in our
hearts, and by abiding in that light through our daily union with the Lord in prayer and participation in
the life-giving sacraments of the Church, we ourselves become light to those around us; we exercise
our ‘prophetic office’; often, without even knowing it, we draw people one step closer to the Lord and
his truth.” (The Holy Father's Hyde Park Vigil Address 18/09/2010 8:30 pm)
55 Pope Benedict’s Address at Oscott College, Sunday, 19 September 2010 5:40pm.
56 Cardinal Newman's motto, Cor ad cor loquitur, “Heart speaks unto heart”, had himself adapted it from St Francis de Sales, “cor cordi
loquitur.” First chapter of Book VI of St Francis’s Treatise on the Love of God, although it had an even early reference in the works of St
Augustine “Lord, you have created us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” Confessions of St Augustine, Book 1.
Chap. 1.
57 Pope Benedict's Message to Young People Piazza, Westminster Cathedral, Saturday, 18 September 2010 12:20pm.
58 Ratzinger, 2004, 100.
59
Benedict XVI, of the Supreme Pontiff (2005), Encyclical Letter Deus Caritas Est, The Vatican, Rome, (1) P1.
17“And in discovering our true self we discover the particular vocation which God has given us for the
building up of his church and the redemption of our world. Heart speaks unto heart. With these words
from my heart, dear young friends, this is words from my heart. I assure you of my prayers for you.”
(Pope Benedict's Message to Young People Piazza, Westminster Cathedral, Saturday, 18 September 2010 12:20pm)
And From His other Writings....
To the Question how many ways are there to God? Pope Benedict XVI answered:-
“As many as there are people. For even within the same faith each man’s way is an entirely personal
one. We have Christ’s word: I am the way. In that respect, there is ultimately one way, and everyone
who is on the way to God is therefore in some sense also on the way of Jesus Christ. But this does not
mean that all ways are identical in terms of consciousness and will, but on the contrary, the one way is
so big that it becomes a personal way for each man.” (Salt of The Earth. The Church at the End of the Millennium, P.32)
“Christian faith is not a system. It cannot be portrayed as a complete, finished intellectual
construction. It is a path, and it is characteristic of a path that it only becomes recognizable if you
enter on it and start following it. This is true in two senses: for any individual, Christianity only opens
up in the experiment of going along with others; and as a whole it can only be grasped as a historical
path.” (Truth and Tolerance. Christian Belief and World Religions, P.145)
“Today it is a matter of the greatest urgency to show a Christian model of life that offers a liveable
alternative to the increasingly vacuous entertainments of leisure-time society, a society forced to make
increasing recourse to drugs because it is sated on the usual shabby pleasures. Living on the great
values of the Christian tradition is naturally much harder than a life rendered dull by the increasing
costly habits of our time. The Christian model of life must be manifested as a life in all its fullness and
freedom, a life that does not experience the bonds of love as dependence and limitation but rather as
an opening to the greatness of life.” (Without Roots. The West, Relativism, Christianity, Islam, P.125-126)
Questions for reflection, discussion and further study:
‘Heart speaks unto heart’ was the theme or motto of the Pope’s Visit to Scotland and the United
Kingdom; to what does it refer?
How can young people discover a vocation that awaits them and what vocation specifically does
Christ require?
Society needs afresh the witness to the beauty and the truth of the Christian faith. How difficult is it to
follow the way of discipleship today and why is it described as a discipline?
186. Education and Catechesis
Catholic education endeavours to shape the whole person, it does this by nurturing an ethos that fulfils
our deepest aspirations about what it is to become fully human; it also encourages individuals to strive
for their eternal destiny. Catholic education may be about equipping pupils to become good citizens,
but it is not just for this world, it is also for the next. For this reason Catholic education has a depth
and breadth that is unique, it is about formation in a faith and the handing on of a wisdom for life that
imitates Christ through the scriptures and the teachings of the Church. Pope Benedict XVI follows the
school of thought of Cardinal John Henry Newman in the desire for an intelligent and well-instructed
laity. Religious education teachers and catechists in particular should be competent, so as to give an
accurate defence of the creed they profess to the next generation in its entirety. Jesus taught his
disciples and they heard and received his words. Similarly we do not invent the faith for ourselves; it
is revealed and handed down to us. For this reason education in the faith requires belonging to a
community, the Church the people of God, but ultimately to the communion of saints to which all
Christians should aspire and for which Catholic education exists.
From His speeches
“As you know, the task of a teacher is not simply to impart information or to provide training in skills
intended to deliver some economic benefit to society; education is not and must never be considered
as purely utilitarian. It is about forming the human person, equipping him or her to live life to the full
– in short it is about imparting wisdom. And true wisdom is inseparable from knowledge of the
Creator, for ‘both we and our words are in his hands, as are all understanding and skill in crafts.’”
(Wis 7:16). (Pope Benedict addresses Teachers and Religious Chapel of St Mary’s University College, Twickenham, Friday, 17
September 2010 11:30am)
“Indeed, the presence of religious in Catholic schools is a powerful reminder of the much-discussed
Catholic ethos that needs to inform every aspect of school life. This extends far beyond the self-
evident requirement that the content of the teaching should always be in conformity with Church
doctrine. It means that the life of faith needs to be the driving force behind every activity in the
19school, so that the Church’s mission may be served effectively, and the young people may discover
the joy of entering into Christ’s ‘being for others’ (Spe Salvi, 28).” (Pope Benedict addresses Teachers and
Religious Chapel of St Mary’s University College, Twickenham, Friday, 17 September 2010 11:30am)
“The Idea of a University holds up an ideal from which all those engaged in academic formation can
continue to learn. And indeed, what better goal could teachers of religion set themselves than Blessed
John Henry’s famous appeal for an intelligent, well-instructed laity: ‘I want a laity, not arrogant, not
rash in speech, not disputatious, but men who know their religion, who enter into it, who know just
where they stand, who know what they hold and what they do not, who know their creed so well that
they can give an account of it, who know so much of history that they can defend it’...On this day
when the author of those words is raised to the altars, I pray that, through his intercession and
example, all who are engaged in the task of teaching and catechesis will be inspired to greater effort
by the vision he so clearly sets before us.”(Pope Benedict's Beatification Homily Cofton Park, Sunday, 19 September 2010
11:15am)
“In your Catholic schools, there is always a bigger picture over and above the individual subjects you
study, the different skills you learn. All the work you do is placed in the context of growing in
friendship with God, and all that flows from that friendship. So you learn not just to be good students,
but good citizens, good people.”.......“And a good Catholic school, over and above this, should help all
its students to become saints.” (Pope Benedict's address to pupils Sports Arena of St Mary’s University College, Twickenham,
Friday, 17 September 2010 11:45 am)
And From His other Writings....
“Faith requires a continual process of education, otherwise the words of faith begin to lose their
meaning. In the Gospel, immediately after the first occurrence of a confession of faith in Christ, we
read ‘he began to teach them’ (Mk 8:29ff). In other words, there is no such thing as a self-explanatory
short formula of faith. The Creed is part of an organic context which includes teaching, education and
the life of a believing fellowship; both words and signs draw their life from this context.” (The Feast of
Faith. Approaches to a Theology of Liturgy, P.90)
“In faith the word takes precedence over the thought, a precedence that differentiates it structurally
from the architecture of philosophy. In philosophy the thought precedes the word; it is after all the
product of the reflection that one then tries to put into words; the words always remain secondary to
the thought and thus in the last resort can always be replaced by other words. Faith, on the other hand,
comes to man from outside, and this very fact is fundamental to it. It is - let me repeat- not something
thought up by myself; it is something said to me.” (Introduction to Christianity, P.91)
“In philosophy, what comes first is the private search for truth, which then, secondarily, seeks and
finds a travelling companion. Faith, on the other hand, is first of all a call to community, to unity of
mind through the unity of the word. Indeed, its significance is, a priori, an essential social one: it aims
at establishing unity of mind through the unity of the word. Only secondarily will it then open the way
for each individual’s private venture in search of truth”. (Introduction to Christianity, P.93)
Questions for reflection, discussion and further study:
What is distinctive about Catholic Education?
What was John Henry Newman’s famous appeal for the laity and why is this important in the sphere
of Catholic Education today?
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