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It has enough resources to address cultural relativism and the crisis
It appears that Old Europe is no longer able to see the difference between good and evil. Our contemporaries are trapped in radical relativism nets affecting the human, sexual, moral, political and economic spheres. Accordingly, relativism justifies all behaviors and reposes on three principles. The first is individualism: everyone not only has the possibility but also the duty to live as they please, regardless of others. Personal interest is all that matters. The ongoing economic crisis is a perfect example of this outlook. It is linked to the collapse of banking and financial markets, which despite world ruin placidly persevere in making the same mistakes, motivated by self-interests. The second principle is calumny, following the wake of Communist regimes which mentioned democracy in order to prevent its diffusion. Homosexual marriage has become same-sex marriage, euthanasia has become dignified death choice, eugenism was renamed ‘the fight against serious diseases’.However, the third principle is perhaps more cumbersome and dangerous. It refers to total freedom that encompasses a lack of knowledge about the other. Coexistence cannot be separated from the love for the other, namely from the care of our neighbor, that helps prevent menacing behaviors. Relativism renounced the fundamental unity of the human species and replaced it with particularism, as opposed to universalism. Ongoing debates on the burqa across Europe are significant. Under the banner of tolerance we are asked to accept that our fellow-citizens be compelled to wear this attire that hides their face, the most important part of the human person, who is thus denied this status. Tolerance is understood as indifference, as the acceptance of exclusion. Tolerance is not fraternity, charity, nor love. As Benedict XVI recalled in the concluding paragraphs of the encyclical Caritas in Veritate, «A humanism that excludes God is an inhuman humanism»Through Christianity, Europe conveys universal values that constitute the very intrinsic unity of mankind. But narrow-minded laicism prevented Europe from granting recognition to its Christian roots when the Constitution was being drawn up. This refusal, denounced by John Paul II, exemplifies Europeans’ identity crisis and is expressed in the cancer of relativism that thwarts the incorporation of century-long values, paving the way to all sorts of stances, including those that deny the basic principles of unity and dignity. But we must not let ourselves be discouraged. Europe has plenty of resources and moral strength, It is capable of mobilization, solidarity, especially among the youth. The Pontifical Magisterium is crucial in defining the path and reaffirming the fundamental principles, as Benedict XVI stated in his latest encyclical, «Because it is a gift received by everyone, charity in truth is a force that builds community, it brings all people together without imposing barriers or limits».
