Catholic World News News Feature

Moral relativism at "emergency" level, Pope warns January 10, 2008

Pope Benedict XVI sounded the alarm about an "educational emergency" during a January 10 meeting with political leaders from Rome and he surrounding Lazio district.

The "emergency" to which the Holy Father referred was the growth of relativism. Young people, he said, find it difficult to develop "firm certainties and criteria upon which to build their lives." This failure of moral guidance, the Pope said, threatens "the very basis of coexistence and the future of society."

In restoring a sense of moral order upon which young people can build their lives, the Pontiff said, "It is clear that respect and support for the family based on marriage have primary importance." The "unrelenting and threatening" attacks on family life, he said, are undermining the most basic unit of healthy social life, and public officials must respond by giving the family "their convinced and concrete support, in the certainty that in this way they are working for the common good."

Pope Benedict told the local government leaders that another serious problem is the high costs of living in the region around Rome, which "make living conditions truly difficult for many individuals and families."

The meeting between the Pope and the civic officials of Rome and Lazio is an annual tradition. The political leaders visit the Vatican each January for an exchange of new-year greetings.