ABSTRACT
A recognition of the theological signifi cance of culture has become a dominant theme in post-Conciliar magisterial thought, beginning with Paul VI’s Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi (1975) and running through John Paul II’s encyclicals, homilies and public addresses. Although there has been very little qualifi cation of the principle of the ‘autonomy of culture’, there has been a recognition of the signifi cance of culture for moral formation, and, in particular, the problem of the secularisation of culture for the fl ourishing of Christian practices. This is refl ected in the statement of Bishop Rino Fisichella of the Lateran University that the relationship between the gospel and cultures is no less than the ‘oceanic problem’ of the day.1 The purpose of this chapter is therefore to examine the treatment of culture in post-Conciliar magisterial thought, especially in relation to the issue of the culture of modernity.
