Restore God's central role, Pope challenges Italian faithful

September 12, 2011

Pope Benedict XVI traveled to Ancona, Italy on September 11, to join in the 25th Italian National Eucharistic Congress. There he delivered a homily urging Italian Catholics to recover “the primacy of God” in the life of society.

Modern society is suffering, the Pope said, because “we often confuse freedom with a lack of constraints, with the conviction that we can do everything alone, without God.” Inevitably, he said, this approach “turns to disappointment, creating disquiet and fear.” A proper focus on the Eucharist, the Pope said, is “the true antidote to the selfishness and egoism that often characterize daily life.”

After celebrating Mass at Ancona, the Pope met with a group of families and priests, and reminded them that their vocations, founded on the sacraments of Holy Orders and Matrimony, have a shared basis in the Eucharist, the source and summit of Catholic life.

Finally, before making his return trip to the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, the Holy Father met with a group of engaged couples. While acknowledging that “ours is not an easy time, especially for you young people,” he encouraged them. “Never lose hope,” the Pontiff insisted. “Nothing can separate us from the love of God.”

 

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Further information:

• It Is Necessary to Restore the Primacy of God in the World (VIS)
• Marriage, Holy Orders: Bearing Witness to Christ's Love (VIS)
• BXVI: Priests must be compassionate with couples who fail to fulfil their marriage vows (VIS)
• The Church Shares Young People's Thirst for Values (VIS)