The ‘Dictatorship of Relativism’ Has Arrived, by Casey Chalk

Casey Chalk is a senior contributor at Crisis. He holds a Masters in Theology from Christendom College.

At the beginning of the 2005 conclave, Pope Benedict XVI preached a now-famous homily condemning what he called the “dictatorship of relativism.” The newly-elected pontiff warned: “We are building a dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one’s own ego and desires.” Benedict’s words elicited much commentary, including books and symposiums. Yet fifteen years removed from that undeniably important sermon, do Benedict’s descriptions still hold?

Recently, upon entering my local public library in Northern Virginia, I was confronted by a large display of “anti-racist” literature. Prominent on the top of the shelf was a quotation from Ibram X. Kendi, slated to soon speak at the town’s community center. It read ….