Benedict XVI: Evangelize without yielding to secularization

Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese,
9 Sep 2009

In the present lack of values, it is especially the newest generations that thirst for transcendence. Benedict XVI reiterated this in his speech to Brazilian Bishops of the State of Mato Grosso, the central-western region of the country.

Benedict XVI noted that after Vatican Council II, there was a tendency to interpret the opening up to the world not as a missionary demand but as way of yielding to secularization and worldly values, to the detriment of the Gospel. In this context that concerns the local Church, it is necessary to proclaim the true faith in the joy of the Resurrection without subsiding to the dominant values and to the expectations of public opinion, especially in the fields of ethics and the coherence between faith and life.

The Pope said he was impressed as he learned of the great distances that bishops and priests must cover so as to carry out their pastoral work, in a situation where human resources are meager and where efficiency is still a priority.