"Because it is filled with truth, charity can be understood in the
abundance of its values, it can be shared and communicated. Truth, in
fact, is lógos which creates diá-logos, and hence communication
and communion. Truth, by enabling men and women to let go of their subjective
opinions and impressions, allows them to move beyond cultural and historical
limitations and to come together in the assessment of the value and substance of
things. Truth opens and unites our minds in the lógos of love: this is
the Christian proclamation and testimony of charity. In the present social and
cultural context, where there is a widespread tendency to relativize truth,
practising charity in truth helps people to understand that adhering to the
values of Christianity is not merely useful but essential for building a good
society and for true integral human development. A Christianity of charity
without truth would be more or less interchangeable with a pool of good
sentiments, helpful for social cohesion, but of little relevance. In other words,
there would no longer be any real place for God in the world. Without truth,
charity is confined to a narrow field devoid of relations. It is excluded from
the plans and processes of promoting human development of universal range, in
dialogue between knowledge and praxis."
