Theological foundations of dialogue within the framework of cultures marked by unbelief and religious indifference

KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN
FACULTEIT GODGELEERDHEID

J.H. WALGRAVE LECTURE 2006

THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF DIALOGUE
WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF CULTURES
MARKED BY UNBELIEF AND RELIGIOUS INDIFFERENCE

by
Bruno Forte
Archbishop of Chieti-Vasto

1. LANDSCAPE OF OUR TIMES
a) Modernity’s dream – and the “murder of the Father”
The metaphor of light provides us with the most eloquently expressive way of talking about the principle which inspired modernity ‘ the ambitious claim of adult reason to understand and master everything. This project – which lays at the foundations of the Enlightenment in all its manifestations – maintains that to understand the world rationally means to make human beings free at last, masters and captains of their own future, emancipating them from every possible dependence.