“I had the opportunity to pay homage to that great country”

Pope Benedict XVI talked about his visit to America today at the Wednesday audience in St. Peter’s Square. He enjoyed his encounter with the people here,

where the religious dimension, in the diversity of its expressions, is not only tolerated but turned to advantage as the ‘soul’ of the nation and the fundamental guarantee of the rights and duties of human beings”.

Benedict – and the Church at large – always reminds people that with rights come duties. That was a big part of his message to the UN.

In fact, everywhere he went in the US, he reminded his particular audiences to recall their beginnings and their purpose.

The Holy Father then went on to explain that he had supported his “brother bishops in their difficult task of spreading the Gospel in a society marked by no small number of contradictions, which also threaten the coherence of Catholics and even of the clergy. I encouraged them to make their voices heard on the moral and social questions of the day, and to form the lay faithful so they become good ‘leavening’ in the civil community on the base of that fundamental cell which is the family. In this context, I exhorted them to re- present the Sacrament of Marriage as a gift and an indissoluble commitment between a man and a woman, the natural environment in which to welcome and educate children.

He packed a lot in that short paragraph, his trademark as a great professor.

Here’s more of that address to the US Bishops in Washington that packs a bit message for them, and Catholic Americans.

While it is true that this country is marked by a genuinely religious spirit, the subtle influence of secularism can nevertheless color the way people allow their faith to influence their behavior. Is it consistent to profess our beliefs in church on Sunday, and then during the week to promote business practices or medical procedures contrary to those beliefs? Is it consistent for practicing Catholics to ignore or exploit the poor and the marginalized, to promote sexual behavior contrary to Catholic moral teaching, or to adopt positions that contradict the right to life of every human being from conception to natural death? Any tendency to treat religion as a private matter must be resisted.

This pope loves St. Augustine, and applies his method of provoking critical thinking by asking pointed questions. That last line is a strong exhortation, in the face of an increasingly secularized culture.

Which led him to emphasize evangelization. Starting with the bishops themselves.

In an age that is saturated with information, the importance of providing sound formation in the faith cannot be overstated…

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.

(This is an important call to the bishops in a critical election year with huge cultural issues at stake.)

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 to the discussion of the pressing social and moral questions of the day.

(So ‘make sure your voice is heard in the public square on pressing social and moral concerns’, dear Brother Bishops.)

By ensuring that the Gospel is clearly heard, you not only form the people of your own community, but in view of the global reach of mass communication, you help to spread the message of Christian hope throughout the world.

Clearly, the Church’s influence on public debate takes place on many different levels. In the United States, as elsewhere, there is much current and proposed legislation that gives cause for concern from the point of view of morality, and the Catholic community, under your guidance, 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. Here much remains to be done. Crucial in this regard is the role of the lay faithful to act as a “leaven” in society.

Without missing a beat, he adds this:

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.

Then, he turns to the family, the ‘building block of society’ the pope emphasizes in several of his addresses.

In the family home we experience “some of the fundamental elements of peace: justice and love between brothers and sisters, the role of authority expressed by parents, loving concern for the members who are weaker because of youth, sickness or old age, mutual help in the necessities of life, readiness to accept others and, if necessary, to forgive them”.

The family is also the “primary place for evangelization”, but he points to the sharp decline of the family as the basic element of the Church and society as a grave concern.

Divorce and infidelity have increased, and many young men and women are choosing to postpone marriage or to forego it altogether. To some young Catholics, the sacramental bond of marriage seems scarcely distinguishable from a civil bond, or even a purely informal and open-ended arrangement to live with another person. Hence we have an alarming decrease in the number of Catholic marriages in the United States together with an increase in cohabitation, in which the Christ-like mutual self-giving of spouses, sealed by a public promise to live out the demands of an indissoluble lifelong commitment, is simply absent. In such circumstances, children are denied the secure environment that they need in order truly to flourish as human beings, and society is denied the stable building blocks which it requires if the cohesion and moral focus of the community are to be maintained.

The pope asks some tough and pointed questions here. He affirms the bishops for launching programs to heal wounds from the abuse scandal and to protect children. But…

If they are to achieve their full purpose, however, the policies and programs you have adopted need to be placed in a wider context. Children deserve to grow up with a healthy understanding of sexuality and its proper place in human relationships. They should be spared the degrading manifestations and the crude manipulation of sexuality so prevalent today. They have a right to be educated in authentic moral values rooted in the dignity of the human person. This brings us back to our consideration of the centrality of the family and the need to promote the Gospel of life.

What does it mean to speak of child protection when pornography and violence can be viewed in so many homes through media widely available today? We need to reassess urgently the values underpinning society, so that a sound moral formation can be offered to young people and adults alike. All have a part to play in this task – not only parents, religious leaders, teachers and catechists, but the media and entertainment industries as well. Indeed, every member of society can contribute to this moral renewal and benefit from it. Truly caring about young people and the future of our civilization means recognizing our responsibility to promote and live by the authentic moral values which alone enable the human person to flourish.

So much to do, he points out. How to handle it all?

Prayer. Back to basics.

Time spent in prayer is never wasted, however urgent the duties that press upon us from every side.

Let’s break this paragraph down:

Adoration of Christ our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament prolongs and intensifies the union with him that is established through the Eucharistic celebration (cf. Sacramentum Caritatis, 66).

Contemplation of the mysteries of the Rosary releases all their saving power and it conforms, unites and consecrates us to Jesus Christ (cf. Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 11, 15).

Fidelity to the Liturgy of the Hours ensures that the whole of our day is sanctified and it continually reminds us of the need to remain focused on doing God’s work, however many pressures and distractions may arise from the task at hand. Thus our devotion helps us to speak and act in persona Christi, to teach, govern and sanctify the faithful in the name of Jesus, to bring his reconciliation, his healing and his love to all his beloved brothers and sisters.

This radical configuration to Christ, the Good Shepherd, lies at the heart of our pastoral ministry, and if we open ourselves through prayer to the power of the Spirit, he will give us the gifts we need to carry out our daunting task, so that we need never “be anxious how to speak or what to say” (Mt 10:19).

Where this message goes, we’ll see. Today, it wound up in St. Peter’s Square, summed up, and well recalled.