Pope Speaks Out On Church-State Relations In Europe

On Thursday, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of church-state relations in Europe in receiving the new Austrian Ambassador to the Vatican. Here are some excerpts from the Pope's remarks (full text):

In many European countries, the relationship between the state and religion is facing a particular tension. On one hand, the political authorities take care not to grant public places to religions, understanding them as merely individual ideas of faith of the citizens. Sought, on the other hand, is the application of criteria of a secular public opinion to religious communities. It seems that they would like to adapt the Gospel to the culture and yet, they seek to impede, in an almost shameful way, that the culture be molded by the religious dimension.