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Ärende: Vatican Information Service - Press Release
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                               VIS-Press releases

BRAZIL UPHOLDS PROFOUND CHRISTIAN VALUES

VATICAN CITY, MAY 23, 2007 (VIS) - Benedict XVI's recent apostolic trip to
Brazil was the theme of his general audience, held this morning in St. Peter's
Square in the presence of 25,000 people.

"My journey," said the Pope, "was primarily an act of praise to God for the
'wonders' worked among the people of Latin America, and for the faith that has
animated their lives and culture over more than 500 years."

The Holy Father recalled how "the relationship between faith and culture" was
always something dear to the hearts of his predecessors Paul VI and John Paul
II. "I have sought to follow their example," he said, "confirming the Church in
Latin America and the Caribbean on her journey in a faith that has become
living history, popular piety and art, in dialogue with the rich pre- Colombian
traditions and with the many influences from Europe and other continents.

"Of course," he added, "remembrance of a glorious past cannot ignore the
shadows that accompanied the work of evangelization on the Latin American
continent: ... the suffering and injustices inflicted by the colonizers on the
indigenous peoples whose fundamental human rights were often trampled
underfoot. But the obligatory mention of those unjustifiable crimes, condemned
even at the time by missionaries like Bartolomeo de las Casas and theologians
such as Francisco de Vitoria, ... must not prevent us from recognizing with
gratitude the marvelous work achieved by divine grace among those peoples over
the course of the centuries."

On the Latin American continent, the Holy Father continued, "the Gospel has
become ... the mainstay of a dynamic synthesis that has different aspects in
the different nations but everywhere expresses the identity of the Latin
American people."

Returning to the subject of his trip, Benedict XVI observed that "Brazil is a
great country that upholds profoundly rooted Christian values, but it also
suffers enormous social and economic problems. In order to help solve them, the
Church must mobilize all the spiritual and moral strength of her communities,
seeking suitable points of agreement with other wholesome forces in the
country."

"Brazil is also a country capable of offering the world a new model of
development. In fact, Christian culture can encourage a 'reconciliation'
between mankind and the creation on the basis of the restoration of personal
dignity in the relationship with God the Father." In this context, the Holy
Father mentioned his visit to the "Fazenda da Esperanca" association for the
rehabilitation of people with problems of drug and alcohol abuse, which also
incorporates a community of Poor Clares. "I felt that this," he said, "is
emblematic for the world today, which certainly needs psychological and social
'rehabilitation,' but even more so spiritual rehabilitation."

Another important moment of the Pope's Brazil visit was the canonization of
Frei Antonio de Santa Ana Galvao, "a man of peace and charity whose witness is
a further confirmation that sanctity is the true revolution capable of
promoting authentic reform of the Church and society."

Commenting on his meeting in Sao Paulo cathedral with Brazilian bishops - "the
largest episcopal conference in the world" - the Pope recalled how "I
encouraged my confreres to advance and reinforce their commitment to the new
evangelization, urging them to further ... the diffusion of the Word of God, so
that the innate and widespread religiosity of the people may deepen and become
a mature faith, an individual and community adherence to the God of Jesus
Christ."

"I recognize the dedication of these faithful servants who wish to present the
Gospel, without reduction or confusion, safeguarding the deposit of faith. ...
Their constant concern is to promote social development, especially through the
formation of the laity who are called to take on roles of responsibility in the
political and economic fields."

The Pope then turned to consider his meeting with young people, whom he
encouraged "take advantage of the great 'richness' of youth in order to become
the young face of the Church."

Finally, he recalled the culminating point of his trip to Brazil, the
inauguration of the Fifth General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America
and the Caribbean at the Shrine of Our Lady in the Brazilian city of Aparecida.
The theme of the conference is "Disciples and missionaries in Jesus Christ,
that in Him our peoples may have life ('I am the Way and the Truth and the
Life')."

"The word 'disciple'," said the Pope, "suggests the idea of formation and of
following [a master], the term 'missionary' expresses the fruit of
discipleship, in other words bearing witness to and communicating a real
experience: the truth known and assimilated. ... Joyfully renewing the will to
be disciples of Jesus ... is the fundamental condition for being His
missionaries who 'start again from Christ,' to use the words of Pope John Paul
II to the entire Church following the Jubilee 2000."

"With my apostolic trip," Pope Benedict concluded, "I wished to exhort people
to continue along this path, presenting the unifying perspective of the
Encyclical 'Deus caritas est,' a perspective that is inextricably social and
theological and that can be summed up in this expression: 'it is love that
gives life'."

Before the audience, the Pope blessed a statue of St. Jose Manyanet (1833-
1901) which has been placed in a niche on the exterior of the apse of St.
Peter's Basilica. This Spanish saint promoted the building of the cathedral of
the Holy Family in Barcelona, Spain and founded the "Sons of the Holy Family"
and the "Missionary Daughters of the Holy Family of Nazareth" to support the
Christian education of children and adolescents.
AG/BRAZIL/...VIS 070523 (940)

SUMMARY

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