Freedom is the essential condition for every authentic life choice.Yet there is a risk of it being misunderstood, not least because it is often inadequately presented. The Church herself comes across to many young people as an institution that imposes rules, prohibitions and obligations. Yet Christ “has set us free for freedom” (Gal 5:1), leading us from the realm of the Law to that of the Spirit. In the light of the Gospel, it is helpful today to acknowledge more clearly that freedom is essentially relational and to show that passions and emotions matter in so far as they guide us towards authentic encounter with others. This perspective clearly shows that true freedom is intelligible and possible only in relation to truth (cf. Jn 8:31-32) and above all to charity (cf. 1 Cor 13:1-13; Gal 5:13): freedom is being oneself in the heart of another.
TheoFonsAt the sources of the faith