There is no doubt
that we are living in a moment of extraordinary development in the human
capacity to decipher the rules and structures of matter, and in the consequent
dominion of man over nature.
We all see the
great advantages of this progress and we see more and more clearly the threat
of destruction of nature by what we do.
There is another
less visible danger, but no less disturbing: the method that permits us to know
ever more deeply the rational structures of matter makes us ever less capable
of perceiving the source of this rationality, creative Reason. The capacity to
see the laws of material being makes us incapable of seeing the ethical message
contained in being, a message that tradition calls lex naturalis,
natural moral law.
This word for many
today is almost incomprehensible due to a concept of nature that is no longer
metaphysical, but only empirical. The fact that nature, being itself, is no
longer a transparent moral message creates a sense of disorientation that
renders the choices of daily life precarious and uncertain.
Naturally, the
disorientation strikes the younger generations in a particular way, who must in
this context find the fundamental choices for their life.
It is precisely
in the light of this contestation that all the urgency of the necessity to
reflect upon the theme of natural law and to rediscover its truth common to all
men appears. The said law, to which the Apostle Paul refers (cf. Rom 2: 14-15),
is written on the heart of man and is consequently, even today, accessible.
This law has as
its first and general principle, "to do good and to avoid evil". This
is a truth which by its very evidence immediately imposes itself on everyone.
From it flows the other more particular principles that regulate ethical
justice on the rights and duties of everyone.
So does the
principle of respect for human life from its conception to its natural
end, because this good of life is not man's property but the free gift of God.
Besides this is the duty to seek the truth as the necessary
presupposition of every authentic personal maturation.
Another
fundamental application of the subject is freedom. Yet taking into
account the fact that human freedom is always a freedom shared with others, it
is clear that the harmony of freedom can be found only in what is common to
all: the truth of the human being, the fundamental message of being itself,
exactly the lex naturalis.
And how can we
not mention, on one hand, the demand of justice that manifests itself in
giving unicuique suum and, on the other, the expectation of solidarity
that nourishes in everyone, especially if they are poor, the hope of the
help of the more fortunate?
In these values
are expressed unbreakable and contingent norms that do not depend on the will
of the legislator and not even on the consensus that the State can and must
give. They are, in fact, norms that precede any human law: as such, they are
not subject to modification by anyone.
The natural law, together with fundamental rights, is the source from which
ethical imperatives also flow, which it is only right to honour.
In today's ethics
and philosophy of Law, petitions of juridical positivism are widespread. As a
result, legislation often becomes only a compromise between different
interests: seeking to transform private interests or wishes into law that
conflict with the duties deriving from social responsibility.
In this situation
it is opportune to recall that every juridical methodology, be it on the local
or international level, ultimately draws its legitimacy from its rooting in the
natural law, in the ethical message inscribed in the actual human being.
Natural law is,
definitively, the only valid bulwark against the arbitrary power or the
deception of ideological manipulation. The knowledge of this law inscribed on
the heart of man increases with the progress of the moral conscience.
The first duty
for all, and particularly for those with public responsibility, must therefore
be to promote the maturation of the moral conscience. This is the fundamental
progress without which all other progress proves non-authentic.
The law inscribed
in our nature is the true guarantee offered to everyone in order to be able to
live in freedom and to be respected in their own dignity.
What has been
said up to this point has very concrete applications if one refers to the
family, that is, to "the intimate partnership of life and the love which
constitutes the married state... established by the Creator and endowed by him
with its own proper laws" (Gaudium et Spes, n. 48).
Concerning this,
the Second Vatican Council has opportunely recalled that the institution of
marriage has been "confirmed by the divine law", and therefore
"this sacred bond... for the good of the partner, of the children and of
society no longer depends on human decision alone" (ibid.).
Therefore, no law
made by man can override the norm written by the Creator without society
becoming dramatically wounded in what constitutes its basic foundation. To
forget this would mean to weaken the family, penalizing the children and
rendering the future of society precarious.
Lastly, I feel
the duty to affirm yet again that not all that is scientifically possible is
also ethically licit.
Technology, when it reduces the human being to an object of experimentation,
results in abandoning the weak subject to the arbitration of the stronger. To
blindly entrust oneself to technology as the only guarantee of progress,
without offering at the same time an ethical code that penetrates its roots in
that same reality under study and development, would be equal to doing violence
to human nature with devastating consequences for all.
The contribution
of scientists is of primary importance. Together with the progress of our
capacity to dominate nature, scientists must also contribute to help understand
the depth of our responsibility for man and for nature entrusted to him.
On this basis it
is possible to develop a fruitful dialogue between believers and non-believers;
between theologians, philosophers, jurists and scientists, which can offer to
legislation as well precious material for personal and social life.
Therefore, I hope
these days of study will bring not only a greater sensitivity of the learned
with regard to the natural moral law, but will also serve to create conditions
so that this theme may reach an ever fuller awareness of the inalienable value
that the lex naturalis possesses for a real and coherent progress of
private life and the social order.
(ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON NATURAL MORAL LAW. Rome12 February 2007 )
