Acta Benedicti Pp. XVI 347

truth distorts our perception of reality, and tarnishes our imagination and

aspirations. I have already mentioned the many liberties which you are for-

tunate enough to enjoy. The fundamental importance of freedom must be

rigorously safeguarded. It is no surprise then that numerous individuals and

groups vociferously claim their freedom in the public forum. Yet freedom is a

delicate value. It can be misunderstood or misused so as to lead not to the

happiness which we all expect it to yield, but to a dark arena of manipulation

in which our understanding of self and the world becomes confused, or even

distorted by those who have an ulterior agenda.

Have you noticed how often the call for freedom is made without ever

referring to the truth of the human person? Some today argue that respect

for freedom of the individual makes it wrong to seek truth, including the

truth about what is good. In some circles to speak of truth is seen as con-

troversial or divisive, and consequently best kept in the private sphere. And

in truth's place - or better said its absence - an idea has spread which, in

giving value to everything indiscriminately, claims to assure freedom and to

liberate conscience. This we call relativism. But what purpose has a ''free-

dom'' which, in disregarding truth, pursues what is false or wrong? How

many young people have been offered a hand which in the name of freedom

or experience has led them to addiction, to moral or intellectual confusion, to

hurt, to a loss of self-respect, even to despair and so tragically and sadly to

the taking of their own life? Dear friends, truth is not an imposition. Nor is it

simply a set of rules. It is a discovery of the One who never fails us; the One

whom we can always trust. In seeking truth we come to live by belief because

ultimately truth is a person: Jesus Christ. That is why authentic freedom is

not an opting out. It is an opting in; nothing less than letting go of self and

allowing oneself to be drawn into Christ's very being for others.5

How then can we as believers help others to walk the path of freedom

which brings fulfillment and lasting happiness? Let us again turn to the

saints. How did their witness truly free others from the darkness of heart

and mind? The answer is found in the kernel of their faith; the kernel of our

faith. The Incarnation, the birth of Jesus, tells us that God does indeed find a

place among us. Though the inn is full, he enters through the stable, and

there are people who see his light. They recognize Herod's dark closed world

5 Cf. Spe Salvi, 28.