Catholic World News News Feature

Pope's message to youth in Sydney July 17, 2008

In his first address to the young people who have gathered in Sydney, Australia, for the 23rd World Youth Day, Pope Benedict XVI stressed the importance of respecting God's plan for creation: both in the natural world and in the life of society.

The Holy Father's speech captured the attention of the mass media with his strong remarks in favor of preserving the natural environment. But he spoke with even greater vigor about the need to protect the "social environment" from the damage caused by secularism and selfishness. [The full text of the Pope's address is available on the Vatican web site.]

Pope Benedict began his address to the massive crowd around Barangaroo bay with a reference to the striking beauty of the surroundings, "on the shores of the magnificent Sydney harbor, with its famous bridge and Opera House." Then, after thanking the aboriginal elders who had greeted him with a ritual ceremony, he turned his attention to the young people.

"Standing before me I see a vibrant image of the universal Church," the Pope said. "The variety of nations and cultures from which you hail shows that indeed Christ’s Good News is for everyone; it has reached the ends of the earth."

However, the Pope acknowledged, many young people-- including some who are attending World Youth day-- "are still seeking a spiritual homeland." He exhorted them to continue that quest, and said that the Catholic Church waits with open arms. "No one need remain on the outside," the Pontiff said, "for from the day of Pentecost the Church has been one and universal."

Since the first Pentecost, Pope Benedict continued, Christians have sought to bring the Good News to the world, and "men and women have set out to tell the same story, witnessing to Christ’s truth and love, and contributing to the Church’s mission."

"Today, it is my turn," the Pope said.

To recapture the enthusiasm of the first Christian missionaries, the Pope asked his young listeners to reflect on the wonders of God's creation. Any such reflection, he said, prompts some soul-searching:

Perhaps reluctantly we come to acknowledge that there are also scars which mark the surface of our earth: erosion, deforestation, the squandering of the world’s mineral and ocean resources in order to fuel an insatiable consumption. Some of you come from island nations whose very existence is threatened by rising water levels; others from nations suffering the effects of devastating drought.

The problems go deeper, the Pope continued:

So again, we ponder. And we discover that not only the natural but also the social environment – the habitat we fashion for ourselves – has its scars; wounds indicating that something is amiss.

Pope Benedict suggested that the "scars" are apparent in the abuse of drugs and alcohol, in violence and sexual aberrations, in the exploitation of these problems by the mass media and the internet. He continued:

There is also something sinister which stems from the fact that freedom and tolerance are so often separated from truth. This is fueled by the notion-- widely held today-- that there are no absolute truths to guide our lives. Relativism, by indiscriminately giving value to practically everything, has made "experience" all-important.

These dangers to the "social environment," the Pope said, must be confronted boldly. Young people especially should realize, he said, that life is not just the pursuit of new experiences. "It is a search for the true, the good and the beautiful."

Moreover, the Pontiff said, young people will inevitably be disillusioned if they search for nothing more than their own gratification. "Christ offers more!" he said. "Indeed He offers everything!"

The Pope asked the young WYD participants to be constantly mindful that "you are a new creation." He warned them that bearing witness to the reality of Christian faith would not be easy, especially in a world dominated by a culture of secularism. And he described the effects of that culture at some length:

There are many today who claim that God should be left on the sidelines, and that religion and faith, while fine for individuals, should either be excluded from the public forum altogether or included only in the pursuit of limited pragmatic goals. This secularist vision seeks to explain human life and shape society with little or no reference to the Creator. It presents itself as neutral, impartial and inclusive of everyone. But in reality, like every ideology, secularism imposes a world-view. If God is irrelevant to public life, then society will be shaped in a godless image, and debate and policy concerning the public good will be driven more by consequences than by principles grounded in truth.

In a society dominated by secularism, the Pope said, the natural environment is endangered by "folly, greed, and selfish exploitation." But again he emphasized that Christians should be mindful of still more important considerations:

But what of our social environment? Are we equally alert to the signs of turning our back on the moral structure with which God has endowed humanity? Do we recognize that the innate dignity of every individual rests on his or her deepest identity - as image of the Creator - and therefore that human rights are universal, based on the natural law, and not something dependent upon negotiation or patronage, let alone compromise? And so we are led to reflect on what place the poor and the elderly, immigrants and the voiceless, have in our societies. How can it be that domestic violence torments so many mothers and children? How can it be that the most wondrous and sacred human space – the womb – has become a place of unutterable violence?

As he reached the conclusion of his remarks, the Pope told his youthful audience that "concerns for non-violence, sustainable development, justice and peace, and care for our environment are of vital importance for humanity." He immediately added: "They cannot, however, be understood apart from a profound reflection upon the innate dignity of every human life from conception to natural death: a dignity conferred by God himself and thus inviolable."