French President Calls For Greater Role For Religion In Public Life

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, in a visit to the Vatican on Thursday, caused consternation among some in France by encouraging a greater role for religion in giving meaning to public life. Reuters reported on the trip during which Sarkozy received the title of Honorary Canon at the Lateran Basilica, an honor given to the head of France since Henry IV. (Zenit). Zenit published quotes from two of Sarkozy's speeches. At the Basilica, he said: "Secularism should not be a denial of the past. It does not have the power to sever France from its Christian roots." In meeting with Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday, Sarkozy said: "I am calling for a positive laicism, that is to say, a secularism that watches over freedom of thought, of belief and unbelief, does not consider religion as a danger, but as an asset."