Pope Benedict XVI’s messages to the U.S. bishops via the Ad limina visits are making waves. In the news this week were the pope’s words about “radical secularism” taking root in American culture. Here’s an excerpt from a Catholic News Service article on his remarks:
Coming at the start of an election year, Pope Benedict’s words were clearly relevant to American politics, a connection he made explicit by mentioning threats to “that most cherished of American freedoms, the freedom of religion.”
The pope said that many of the visiting bishops had told him of “concerted efforts” against the “right of conscientious objection … to cooperation in intrinsically evil practices” — an apparent reference to proposals by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, opposed by the U.S. bishops, that all private health insurance plans cover surgical sterilization procedures and artificial birth control.
In response to such threats, Pope Benedict said, the Church requires an “engaged, articulate and well-formed Catholic laity” with the courage and critical skills to articulate the “Christian vision of man and society.” He said that the education of Catholic laypeople is essential to the “new evangelization,” an initiative that he has made a priority of his pontificate.
Certainly the Archdiocese of Detroit has some of its own experience in the new evangelization, an idea pushed hard by Pope John Paul II and taken to heart at Detroit’s seminary, which has a program focused on the topic. That may well come up when our bishops visit with His Holiness.
