Acta Apostolicae Sedis - Commentarium Officiale324

truth which makes consensus attainable, and helps to keep public debate

rational, honest and accountable. Similarly the Church never tires of uphold-

ing the essential moral categories of right and wrong, without which hope

could only wither, giving way to cold pragmatic calculations of utility which

render the person little more than a pawn on some ideological chess-board.

With regard to the educational forum, the diakonia of truth takes on a

heightened significance in societies where secularist ideology drives a wedge

between truth and faith. This division has led to a tendency to equate truth

with knowledge and to adopt a positivistic mentality which, in rejecting

metaphysics, denies the foundations of faith and rejects the need for a moral

vision. Truth means more than knowledge: knowing the truth leads us to

discover the good. Truth speaks to the individual in his or her entirety,

inviting us to respond with our whole being. This optimistic vision is found

in our Christian faith because such faith has been granted the vision of the

Logos, God's creative Reason, which in the Incarnation, is revealed as Good-

ness itself. Far from being just a communication of factual data - ''infor-

mative'' - the loving truth of the Gospel is creative and life-changing -

''performative''.10 With confidence, Christian educators can liberate the

young from the limits of positivism and awaken receptivity to the truth,

to God and his goodness. In this way you will also help to form their con-

science which, enriched by faith, opens a sure path to inner peace and to

respect for others.

It comes as no surprise, then, that not just our own ecclesial communities

but society in general has high expectations of Catholic educators. This places

upon you a responsibility and offers an opportunity. More and more people

- parents in particular - recognize the need for excellence in the human

formation of their children. As Mater et Magistra, the Church shares their

concern. When nothing beyond the individual is recognized as definitive,

the ultimate criterion of judgment becomes the self and the satisfaction of

the individual's immediate wishes. The objectivity and perspective, which

can only come through a recognition of the essential transcendent dimension

of the human person, can be lost. Within such a relativistic horizon the goals

of education are inevitably curtailed. Slowly, a lowering of standards occurs.

We observe today a timidity in the face of the category of the good and an

10 Cf. Spe Salvi, 2.