From the story :
He identified "utilitarianism" - the philosophy that prescribes the maximization of personal happiness and pleasure - and "relativism" - a doctrine whereby all criteria of judgment are relative to the individuals and situations involved - among the ills of modern culture.I don't know if it is the pope or the writer of this story, but someone has this wrong. Utilitarianism is putting the good of the many before the good of the few...maximum happiness and pleasure for the maximum number of people, not personal happiness and pleasure. And what is wrong with relativism? That is why half of the stories in the Bible don't make any sense...they are relative to the time in which they were written, relative to the culture and experiences of the writer.
He goes on to say that because we are radically and profoundly separated "not only from Christianity, but more generally from the religious and moral traditions of humanity," that we are "unable to undertake a real dialogue with other cultures in which the religious dimension is strongly present." Is being separated from the "moral traditions of humanity" the same as being immoral? ...maybe amoral? Either way, it seems to me many of the traditional morals are still the same, but maybe he's focused on the "big" issues, like abortion (which really is a personal distinction between moral and immoral, because that determination is based on a piece of information [is it life or no?] that really cannot be determined by fact).
I do agree that we are doing a worse job than ever of communicating with other nations, especially those in the Middle East, where religion is one of their main focuses of life, but isn't the leader of our nation a Christian appointed by God?
Peace,
Alphadork
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