In the Vatican there sits a man called Joseph Ratzinger. He is a cardinal and much trusted by the Pope. Since 1981 he has been entrusted with the safeguarding of orthodox Catholic belief. It's his job to ensure that what Catholics believe about God remains rooted in both the scriptures and tradition of the Church. When those roots appear in danger of being uprooted it is Cardinal Ratzinger's responsibility to sound the alarm. Just recently he's done this, warning against the error of relativism.

Relativism is a curious word, of the sort that has us rushing for the dictionary. According to the OCD is refers to "the doctrine that knowledge is relative not absolute." If that definition leaves us none the wiser perhaps one from a theological dictionary may help us: "relativism is the view that there are no absolute truths or values. Everything is determined by particular periods, cultures, societies and persons. - This understood, what then does Cardinal Ratzinger mean?

Too many Catholics, he believes, have rejected the absolute truths concerning Jesus Christ. In the creed we find some of these proclaimed: "We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ.... the only son of God...of one being with the Father..." He believes these truths are in danger of being surrendered to a polite pluralism that leaves Jesus Christ in the same proverbial boat as Buddha, Mohammed and any other deity we care to mention. Do we hold this belief. Are we relativistic? Perhaps the evidence tends towards no clear conclusion. In today's multi-faith culture, we do find ourselves confronted, as perhaps never before, with the effort to embrace all that is good and holy in other faiths. We surely wouldn't want to offend those whose religious faith is different to our own. Equally though, and this is perhaps where the cardinal thinks we've been heading, we don't need to accommodate their beliefs in such a way as to leave ours on an equal footing. This only ends up with any view being as good-and therefore as bad, as any other.

The Cardinal's warning is timely. This week we begin Lent, a time to re-examine our faith and ensure we are not unconsciously surrendering its truths. Lent will show why these truths about Jesus Christ remain absolute and why we must guard against relativism. If we succumb we will, after all, have nothing to pass on to a new generation, DG.