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14 - Culture and Conscience in the Thought of Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI

from Part II - Conscience According to Major Figures and Traditions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2021

By
Peter J. Casarella
Edited by
Jeffrey B. Hammond  and
Helen M. Alvare
Jeffrey B. Hammond
Affiliation:
Faulkner University
Helen M. Alvare
Affiliation:
George Mason University, Virginia
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Summary

Peter Casarella presents the themes in Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI’s reflection on conscience. An important part of Benedict’s theory is his theology of culture. Current ideas about conscience and culture minimize truth. Benedict posits that conscience is a law on the heart and is not merely consciousness. He submits that culture points to the unveiling of a Redeemer. He proposes “interculturality,” the meeting of cultures in which their hope for Advent is kept. Regarding truth and conscience, Benedict works with Newman and Socrates. He concludes that conscience is the voice of truth in the subject. Benedict’s theory of conscience hews the Thomistic line between synderesis and conscience as an act of judging upon a good. Benedict guards against relativism by suggesting that synderesis can be known by the Platonic idea of anamnesis: memory of the true and good. This is tied to Benedict’s anthropology, namely humans’ reliance upon God and capacity for dialogue with Him. Though social circumstances can be sources of moral knowledge, the person should consult God’s will. Consciences are formed through Scripture, the Holy Spirit, the magisterium, beauty, and identification with Christ.

Keywords

St. Thomas AquinasAugustineBenedict XVIBonaventureJohn Henry NewmanHans Urs von BalthasarinculturationinterculturalityKantSocrates
Type
Chapter
Information
Christianity and the Laws of Conscience
An Introduction
 , pp. 265 - 284
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

Recommended Reading

Casarella, Peter. “Martyria: Witnessing, Interculturality, and Secularism.” In Witnessing: Prophecy, Politics, and Wisdom, edited by Bingemer, Maria Clara and Casarella, Peter, 99–111. Maryknoll, ny: Orbis, 2014.Google Scholar
Cavadini, John, ed. Explorations in the Theology of Benedict XVI. Notre Dame, in: University of Notre Dame Press, 2012.Google Scholar
De Gaál, Emery. The Theology of Pope Benedict XVI: The Christocentric Shift. New York, ny: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.Google Scholar
Ratzinger, Joseph (Pope Benedict XVI). “Conscience in Its Time.” In Church, Ecumenism and Politics. New York, ny: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1988, 165–79.Google Scholar
Ratzinger, Joseph (Pope Benedict XVI). Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life, 2nd English ed. Washington, dc: The Catholic University of America Press, 2000.Google Scholar
Ratzinger, Joseph (Pope Benedict XVI). On Conscience: Two Essays. San Francisco, ca: Ignatius Press, 2007.Google Scholar
Ratzinger, Joseph (Pope Benedict XVI). The Unity of the Nations: A Vision of the Church Fathers. Washington, dc: The Catholic University of America Press, 2015.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ratzinger, Joseph (Pope Benedict XVI). Truth and Tolerance: Christian Belief and World Religions. San Francisco, ca: Ignatius, 2004.Google Scholar
Ratzinger, Joseph (Pope Benedict XVI). Values in a Time of Upheaval. San Francisco, ca: Ignatius, 2006.Google Scholar
Rowland, Tracy. Ratzinger’s Faith: The Theology of Pope Benedict XVI. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spaemann, Robert. Basic Moral Concepts. London and New York, ny: Routledge, 1988.Google Scholar
Twomey, Vincent, SVD. Pope Benedict XVI: The Conscience of Our Age. San Francisco, ca: Ignatius Press, 2007.Google Scholar
Varela, Félix. Letters to Elpidio, edited by Estévez, Felipe J.. Mahwah, nj: Paulist, 1989.Google Scholar

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