Speaking to members of an international theological commission on 5 October 2007,  Pope Benedict XVI indicated that the doctrine on natural law achieves two essential aims.   On the one hand, it makes it clear that the ethical content of Christian faith is not an imposition dictated from outside man’s conscience, but a norm that has its basis in human nature itself.  On the other hand, by starting from the basis of natural law – which of itself is accessible to all rational creatures – it lays the foundations for dialogue with all men and women of good will, and with civil society more generally