Yesterday afternoon, Pope Benedict XVI spoke to about 300 U.S. bishops gathered at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. While much of the coverage, such as
this CNS story, focused on the Pope's remarks on the priest sexual abuse scandals, the
full transcript also reveals interesting comments on religion an public life in the United States. The Pope appeared particularly concerned about Catholic laity who take public policy positions uninformed by the true teachings of the Church. In his prepared remarks, Benedict said:
As preachers of the Gospel and leaders of the Catholic community, you are also called to participate in the exchange of ideas in the public square, helping to shape cultural attitudes. In a context where free speech is valued, and where vigorous and honest debate is encouraged, yours is a respected voice that has much to offer.... By ensuring that the Gospel is clearly heard ... you help to spread the message of Christian hope throughout the world.
... In the United States, as elsewhere, there is much current and proposed legislation that gives cause for concern ... and the Catholic community ... needs to offer a clear and united witness on such matters. Even more important, though, is the gradual opening of the minds and hearts of the wider community to moral truth.... Crucial in this regard is the role of the lay faithful to act as a "leaven" in society. Yet it cannot be assumed that all Catholic citizens think in harmony with the Church's teaching on today's key ethical questions. Once again, it falls to you to ensure that the moral formation provided at every level of ecclesial life reflects the authentic teaching of the Gospel of life.
In response to a question about "the challenge of increasing secularism in public life and relativism in intellectual life", the Pope was able to express his concerns at greater length. He said:
It strikes me as significant that here in America, unlike many places in Europe, the secular mentality has not been intrinsically opposed to religion. Within the context of the separation of Church and State, American society has always been marked by a fundamental respect for religion and its public role, and, if polls are to be believed, the American people are deeply religious. But it is not enough to count on this traditional religiosity and go about business as usual, even as its foundations are being slowly undermined....
.... Perhaps America's brand of secularism poses a particular problem: it allows for professing belief in God, and respects the public role of religion and the Churches, but at the same time it can subtly reduce religious belief to a lowest common denominator. Faith becomes a passive acceptance that certain things "out there" are true, but without practical relevance for everyday life. The result is a growing separation of faith from life.... This is aggravated by an individualistic and eclectic approach to faith and religion: ... each person believes he or she has a right to pick and choose, maintaining external social bonds but without an integral, interior conversion to the law of Christ. Consequently ... Christians are easily tempted to conform themselves to the spirit of this age.... We have seen this emerge in an acute way in the scandal given by Catholics who promote an alleged right to abortion.
On a deeper level, secularism challenges the Church to reaffirm and to pursue more actively her mission in and to the world.... In a word, the Gospel has to be preached and taught as an integral way of life, offering an attractive and true answer, intellectually and practically, to real human problems....
... I believe that the Church in America, at this point in her history, is faced with the challenge of recapturing the Catholic vision of reality and presenting it, in an engaging and imaginative way, to a society which markets any number of recipes for human fulfillment. I think in particular of our need to speak to the hearts of young people, who, despite their constant exposure to messages contrary to the Gospel, continue to thirst for authenticity, goodness and truth....
