As he continues this section on judgment as a setting for hope, Pope Benedict brings up the atheism that emerged in the 19th and 20th centuries. He explains that the growth of this rejection of the belief in God is due in part to the reaction to the injustices present in the world. He writes:
A world marked by so much injustice, innocent suffering, and cynicism of power cannot be the work of a good God. A God with responsibility for such a world would not be a just God, much less a good God. It is for the sake of morality that this God has to be contested. Since there is no God to create justice, it seems man himself is now called to establish justice. (SS 42)
If there is no God to determine what constitutes justice, according to this line of thought, then it falls to human beings to determine justice. From the Christian perspective, we know this to be dangerous, for our humanity, wounded by Original Sin, is prone to error and division. This has played out, unfortunately, in tragic ways when human beings have taken control of defining and enforcing justice according to their standard of ethics and morality. In light of this point, the Holy Father concludes soberly: “A world which has to create its own justice is a world without hope.” (ibid.)
Perhaps you have encountered individuals, such as co-workers, friends, or family members who have concluded that God must not exist for similar reasons to those listed above. If God is good, how can He permit these things to happen? It is sometimes easier to decide that there is no God than to wrestle with the mystery of how God can be present while there are so many bad things that have happened, and continue to happen, with little hope that the situation will get better.
In his Letter to the Romans, St. Paul writes: “We believe that all things work for the good for those who love God and are called according to His purposes.” (Rom 8:28) It takes a lot of faith to believe this is true, that it applies to all things, even the worst tragedies. How that will come about is certainly not clear, but the promise is given to us by the Holy Spirit speaking through the Word of God.
As Christians, words like this and many others from the Scriptures give us good ground for hope, a hope that in the end, God’s justice will indeed triumph, a justice that always makes room for mercy. But our belief in how God will resolve all things for the good does not give us permission to disengage and just let God work it all out. Rather, we are invited to commit to cooperating with God in bringing about a more just and more merciful world by living according to the Gospel which alone has the power to transform society in a true and lasting way. Though we may not always see the immediate results, and in fact, we may see things getting worse, nevertheless we continue to strive to bring the Gospel values to the world around us, trusting that the Lord can and will use what seems so insignificant in our eyes to serve His Providential plan for our good and for the salvation of the world.