A German Pope Can Teach Many Lessons
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Re “A German Lesson: the Fallacy of One True Path,” Commentary, April 22: I knew there would be trouble as soon as I saw the words “German” and “pope” in the same sentence. Daniel Jonah Goldhagen: Thank you for your piece -- I hope the people who need to read it do so. Nothing in life can be taken for granted, such as the late Pope John Paul II’s magnanimity and realistic worldview. Those traits should have been appreciated while they lasted.
Linda Finn
Woodland Hills
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Goldhagen presents his reservations about a German pope. The arguments advanced, however, are a confusing mix of historical facts and claims that have been debunked elsewhere, coupled with moral platitudes and an eschewed understanding of philosophy.
Relativism is primarily a philosophical position with moral and theological consequences, which states that all truths are of equal value, and cannot be arranged hierarchically. Benedict XVI, a philosopher and theologian, has written and talked intelligently about the inhumane consequences of this position.
The Nazi ideology was anti-Christian in assessing the value of human life: Killing a Jew was equivalent to exterminating a rat. The German pope’s warnings about the “tyranny of relativism” are directly grounded in this experience.
Maria Elena
de las Carreras
Northridge
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