Ever the academic, Benedict\u2019s speeches to leaders in culture, science and the arts are always among the most personal and carefully considered during his foreign trips. In his address…the pope made three basic points:<\/p>\n
\u201d\u00a2 The best of modernity lies in a broad humanistic \u201cwisdom,\u201d\u009d expressed in values such as universality and fraternity. That wisdom rests on a three-legged historical stool formed by Christianity, the Enlightenment and secular thought. Trying to suppress Christianity makes the stool wobbly, so the church\u2019s defense of objective truth is a matter of saying \u201cyes\u201d\u009d to those values rather than \u201cno\u201d\u009d to rival ideas.
\n\u201d\u00a2 Dialogue among different cultures and philosophical systems is a \u201cpriority in the world, from which the church does not intend to withdraw.\u201d\u009d In fact, Benedict quoted Pope Paul VI to the effect that \u201cthe church must enter into dialogue with the world in which it finds itself.\u201d\u009d
\n\u201d\u00a2 The Second Vatican Council (1962-65) \u201cwelcomed and recreated the best of the longings of modernity,\u201d\u009d thereby generating \u201can authentic Catholic renewal.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n