Natural disasters give cause for reflection, Pope tells Sunday audience

March 08, 2010

"The possibility of conversion demands that we learn to read the events of life in the light of faith," Pope Benedict XVI said at his midday audience on Sunday, March 7.

The Pope said that it is unwise to think of natural disasters as God's way of punishing sinners. He said that "calamities and tragic events must not arouse our curiosity or our desire to find the supposedly guilty, but should be occasions to reflect, to reject the illusion that we can live without God." A wise man, reflecting on tragedies, seems them as a reminder "about the precarious nature of existence," the Pontiff said.

Pope Benedict added that the faithful should try to see God's presence in all aspects of life. In a talk centered on the need for constant conversion, he said: "However, in order to recognize His presence it is necessary for us to approach Him with awareness of our own lowliness and with profound respect."

 

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Further information:

• Conversion Means Reading Events in the Light of Faith (VIS)