Magisterium of John Paul II and the Moral Dilemmas of Free Speech: A Communication Based on Freedom and Truth

Abstract

Some recent cases related to free speech show that different forms of fundamentalism challenge the liberal notion of absolute tolerance. This situation can also express that liberal tolerance based on ethical skepticism is not enough to solve the moral problem of noxious speech. I briefly explore the historical context and the philosophical background where political rights like free speech were founded. During this process, the Church passes from condemning modernity to dialogue. Vatican II contains the new theoretical framework of the Church about the secular world. The magisterium of John Paul II on communication and freedom in the public sphere offers a new approach to media within the Church and a profound insight to the main dilemmas related to the exercise of freedom.