Vatican City, Jul 28, 2010 / 17:54 pm
Similarities between the teachings of Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal John Henry Newman are detailed in Wednesday's edition of Il Foglio. According to the author, at least one major element unites their thought - their aversion to a relativistic society.
Vatican expert Paolo Rodari examines the Pope's interest in the soon-to-be beatified English cardinal in an article titled, "The fight against relativism of B-XVI is the same as Newman's one hundred years ago."
The Il Foglio writer refers to the argument of Msgr. Roderick Strange, who in his "spiritual biography" of Cardinal Newman, illustrates a moment when then-Cardinal Ratzinger showed a "bond" with the founder of the Birmingham Oratory.
Holding the floor before the College of Cardinals on the eve of the papal enclave in which he was elected in 2005, Cardinal Ratzinger spoke of the "dictatorship of relativism" threatening the world, in which nothing is definite and the only thing that remains is "oneself and one's desires."