Civic Profile of the State Community in the Teaching of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI

Janusz Szulist

doi:10.21697/ct.2023.93.4.09

Published: 22023-11-15 — Updated on 2023-11-16

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2023-11-16 (2)
2023-11-15 (1)

Vol. 93 No. 4 (2023)

Civic Profile of the State Community in the Teaching of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI

Janusz Szulist

Collectanea Theologica

Section: Articles

https://doi.org/10.21697/ct.2023.93.4.09

Abstract

The object of analysis in the article is the civic profile of the state community, positively assessed in the teaching of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI. Civil society, with its many advantages, has its dangers which, with the reductionist style of modern reflection, serve to individualise references, which was strongly emphasised in modernity. It is impossible to ignore the issue of the natural order recognised by human reason (dating back to antiquity), which is crucial for every humanisation process. Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict is aware of the risk of over-interpreting the status of a person as an individual in society. A proper sense of citizenship in the state is shaped by the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity, inherent in personalism. Awareness of one’s own rights while being responsible for one’s neighbour is shaped in the family. Democratic systems, on the other hand, serve to promote freedom and equality in the world, essentially expressing the ethos of the citizen. The source material of the study is the teaching of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI.

Keywords:

civil society, state, principles of social life, democracy, family, Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict XVI

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Szulist, J. (2023). Civic Profile of the State Community in the Teaching of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI. Collectanea Theologica, 93(4), 129–148. https://doi.org/10.21697/ct.2023.93.4.09 (Original work published November 15, 2023)

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