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Skriven 2006-11-14 22:58:10 av Marc Lewis (1:396/45)
Ärende: Vatican Information Service - Press Release
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                               VIS-Press releases

SECULARIZATION, A CHALLENGE FOR THE CHURCH IN GERMANY

VATICAN CITY, NOV 11, 2006 (VIS) - In the talk he delivered yesterday to the
first group of prelates from the German Bishops' Conference, at the end of
their "ad limina" visit, the Pope affirmed that the secularization of society
represents "a providential challenge that must be faced with courage."

"The Federal Republic of Germany," said the Holy Father, "shares with the
entire western world a situation where culture is dominated by secularization,
in which God tends to disappear from the public conscience, the uniqueness of
the image of Christ fades, and the values formed by ecclesial tradition lose
their effectiveness."

"For this reason, no small number of people have become discouraged and
resigned; attitudes that hinder the act of witnessing to the Gospel of Christ
that liberates and saves." A lot of people ask themselves, he added, "whether
Christianity is not perhaps, in the end, just one proposed meaning among many
others? ... At the same time however, given the fragile and transitory nature
of the majority of the other offers, many people come back hopefully to
interrogate and examine the Christian message, and from us they expect
convincing answers."

On the subject of relations with Islam, Benedict XVI told the bishops of his
"respect and benevolence" for the many Muslims living in Germany. They, he
added, "who remain so seriously attached to their beliefs and rites, have the
right to our humble and determined witness of Jesus Christ. To make such
witness credible, great efforts are required. For this reason, in areas with a
large Muslim population, there must be Catholic interlocutors with the
indispensable linguistic and historical-religious knowledge to make them
capable of establishing a dialogue with Muslims. And it is of course clear that
such dialogue requires, in the first place, a profound knowledge of their own
Catholic faith."

The Pope then proceeded to consider the question of religious education,
Catholic schools and the formation of Catholic adults. "Religious education
curricula," he said, "must be guided by the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
... It is of fundamental importance that the introduction into a Catholic view
of the world and into the practice of the faith, as well as the integral
formation of the person, are not transmitted only in the course of religion
lessons," but also "through the personal witness of teachers." As for
institutions and activities for the formation of adults, care must be taken, he
said, "with the choice of subjects and educators, so that the central message
of the faith and of the Christian way of life do not get pushed into the
background."

"Faithfulness to the 'depositum fidei,' as represented in the Church's
Magisterium, is the indispensable condition for serious theological research
and teaching."

Turning to the subject of formation in seminaries, the Holy Father stressed the
importance of the "introductory course that takes place before the beginning of
studies," especially because an ever greater number of candidates to the
priesthood "do not come from a traditional Catholic background. ... During this
introductory year, students will be able to gain a clearer view of their
vocation to the priesthood, and those in charge of priestly formation will have
the chance to form an opinion of the candidates, of their human maturity and of
their life of faith. On the other hand, the group dynamics of role-playing and
self-awareness exercises, and other psychological experiments, are less
appropriate, and can rather cause confusion and insecurity."

In closing, Pope Benedict considered "an urgent problem: the relationship
between priests and faithful in accomplishing the mission of the Church."
Expressing his thanks for the active collaboration of so many lay faithful who
"contribute to supporting the Church," the Pope recalled that "the sermon
during Mass is a duty associated with ordained ministry," and that "where there
is a sufficient number of priests and deacons, the distribution of Communion is
their duty."

"Only the Sacrament of Holy Orders enables its recipient to act 'in persona
Christi.' This fact must be emphasized with patience and wisdom, and the
necessary conclusions drawn."
AL/.../GERMANY VIS 061113 (690)

SUMMARY

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