Through such a process of inquiry and deliberation we hope to call to mind norms already recognized as beyond question and, and to encourage their application in many contexts in which they they have been forgotten or for which they are currently deemed irrelevant. Second, any norms or values to be employed for moral evaluation in the current world, must be universal in the sense of being general and inclusive. We are a highly diverse society. Amidst that diversity we need basic principles with which to evaluate and determine our responsibilities to each other and to all the peoples of an increasingly interdependent world. These may be modified through the dialogue process, but in one form or another, we expect ideas of this sort to be essential in bringing about some resolution of the moral crisis.
Every person has a positive and unique value.
That this is so is not an accident in the historical unfolding of the universe. This unique value is embedded in and expressed through morality. An adequately enriching expression of this positive and unique value is rooted in moral freedom, which presupposes but is not the same as political and economic freedom. Moral freedom is at once a blessing of Providence and a social task in which morally mature persons are necessarily engaged. In its very essence, it is both a gift and a duty.