Pope exhorts Catholics of Naples: rise to the challenge of 'deviant' secularism

December 17, 2010

In a message to the Archdiocese of Naples, which is celebrating a Jubilee Year, Pope Benedict XVI said that the “rich religious heritage” of Naples should counteract the “negative and deviant models” of life posed by a secularized and materialistic culture.

In his message addressed to Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe of Naples, the Pope notes that “Christian sanctity has flourished abundantly” in Naples over the centuries. The faithful today should follow the example of these great forebears, he said, “showing the same vigor and apostolic drive as they did.”

Pope Benedict admitted that apostolic work will encounter new challenges in today’s Naples. He said that “it is painful to note the spread of a secularized view of life and the emergence of evils afflicting the body public, which is threatened by individualism.” This is the challenge to which the Church must now rise, he said.

 

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Further information:

• Apostolic Vigour and Drive for Naples Jubilee Year (VIS)