The Common Good: Not Only Cultural Values but the Human Heart

In a recent post, John Allen calls our attention to Pope Benedict's understanding of inter-religious dialogue, which de-emphasizes theological issues in favor of cultural goals: "A Theologian Pope Sidelines Theology." The pope, according to Allen, thinks that instead of hammering out theological agreements, religious leaders need "to elaborate a set of shared values, and then to pool resources to apply those values in social and political debates." Allen does well to call our attention to Benedict's building common cause with other groups, but Benedict's focus goes beyond values to the source of those values, the human heart.

Joseph Ratzinger reports that Balthasar once rebuked him a bit, saying "do not presuppose the faith but propose it." It seems to me the key in cultural dialogue is never to presuppose the heart but always to propose it. Reading the full text of the speech at the Synagogue of Rome, I see that Benedict isn't content with leaving it at values, but insists on grounding those values in the heart:
"The 'Ten Commandments' shed light on good and evil, on truth and falsehood, on justice and injustice, and they match the criteria of every human person's right conscience." Pope Benedict goes on to elaborate three "possible areas of cooperation and witness" for our times:

• "The 'Ten Commandments' require that we recognize the one Lord, against the temptation to construct other idols, to make golden calves."
• "The 'Ten Commandments' call us to respect life and to protect it against every injustice and abuse, recognizing the worth of each human person, created in the image and likeness of God."
• "The 'Ten Commandments' call us to preserve and to promote the sanctity of the family, in which the personal and reciprocal, faithful and definitive 'Yes' of man and woman makes room for the future, for the authentic humanity of each, and makes them open, at the same time, to the gift of new life. "

For Benedict, then, dialogue is not only about working together for common political and cultural aims, but is rooted in the human heart and has worth insofar as it is a witness to the truth. That is to say, we are brothers united by our humanity and our response to the one God. Let our cultural work grow out of this communion and be a witness to the one God - a magnifying of His glory until He comes!