Fides et Ratio: A few thoughts - Part I

As some of you may have read in earlier posts, I am giving a presentation on Fides et Ratio this friday. It is a small venue and the group is small, but it is my first "public" presentation of any type in Alaska. The topic is "Faith and Reason." I am going to briefly explaining Fides et Ratio, the encyclical, and then I will try to explain the purpose, setting, and meaning of the encyclical to a newly formed apostolate. The purpose of this apostoalte, or its Charism if you will, is still uncertain but seems to be that of apologetics and the building of well formed Catholics.

While preparing for my presentation, I started having doubts about whether I should be tackling the subject matter, which is deep and philosophical and based in complex Catholic Theology. These are some thoughts I had:
Reading this encyclical, and understanding it is quite the task. As a person who was trained in history and philosophy, I have a strong foundation for this type of work, and the concepts contained within. I am by no means an expert though. Added to that is my legal degree from a Catholic law school rooted in the Natural Law tradition. Again, this gives me no expertise. So I started to have doubts if I was qualified... but then I began to think, "Who would be qualified to explain this?" Maybe a theological or philosophical scholar... if they were well trained. A Bishop or Priest, versed in this area? What about a philosopher that has more education than me... say a Ph.D in philosophy? Well... maybe, maybe not.

A section struck me that made me realize, that although encyclicals are generally aimed at Bishops, they are intended to help guide Catholics. So we as lay Catholics, should read them to help understand the direction and teaching of the Church. So then, maybe I am qualified, if nothing else, to at least interpret and help others discern the meaning of this text...right?

I wasn't so sure. Again, I felt... as if maybe I was treading in water, that I shouldn't be swimming in. But then I read this passage:

...some philosophers have abandoned the search for truth in itself and made their sole aim the attainment of a subjective certainty or a pragmatic sense of utility. This in turn has obscurred the true dignity of reason, which is no longer equipped to kow the truth and to seek the absolute.

If philosophers have abandoned the search for truth; VERITAS, the are they really philosophers? This question seems to be a tangent down a dirt road that I dare not travel right now, but it most definitely calls into question their credentials as to whether or not they are "qualified" in such ideas. Doesn't it?

I think as the Body of Christ, we are called to learn about our faith and understand it as fully as we can. We must not settle for the pragmatic or subjective certainty. That is the easy way out. If Christ is the TRUTH and THE WAY, should we not then seek him to his full end? The ABSOLUTE END? Shouldn't we strive for ABSOLUTE TRUTH, and not just some "educated" persons opinion of what that truth might be? Should we listen to the "philosophers" words of warning, that Truth exists not in absolute, but instead only in a conception of some set of norms or rules?

There is much more  I want to say about this, but I am still trying to fully formulate these ideas. It is interesting to re-read a work like Fides et Ratio after a period of time. I am able to gleem much more from it, now that I have finished law school, have worked in the world, and have studied my faith more deeply. It is interesting to see how Faith and Reason, which seem so intangible, are actually quite important to the day to day life of a Catholic.