Quotes and news

Today's edition of 'Quotes and news' is dedicated to excerpts from speeches Pope Benedict delivered during his visit to the Czech Republic from September 26 to 28.

True Freedom and truth

"Every generation has the task of engaging anew in the arduous search for the right way to order human affairs, seeking to understand the proper use of human freedom... True freedom presupposes the search for truth - for the true good - and hence finds its fulfilment precisely in knowing and doing what is right and just. Truth, in other words, is the guiding norm for freedom, and goodness is freedom's perfection.

"Indeed, the lofty responsibility to awaken receptivity to truth and goodness falls to all leaders - religious, political and cultural, each in his or her own way. For Christians, truth has a name: God. And goodness has a face: Jesus Christ."

Europe: a home

"Europe is more than a continent. It is a home... With full respect for the distinction between the political realm and that of religion - which indeed preserves the freedom of citizens to express religious belief and live accordingly - I wish to underline the irreplaceable role of Christianity for the formation of the conscience of each generation and the promotion of a basic ethical consensus that serves every person who calls this continent 'home'."

Love is all you need

"Love for Christ and for one's fellow men and women must be the hallmark of every Christian and every community. Nourish your love for Christ by prayer and listening to His word; feed on Him in the Eucharist, and by His grace, be builders of unity and peace wherever you go.

"Twenty years ago, after the long winter of Communist dictatorship, your Christian communities began once more to express themselves freely... Yet you are well aware that even today it is not easy to live and bear witness to the Gospel.

Society continues to suffer from the wounds caused by atheist ideology, and it is often seduced by the modern mentality of hedonistic consumerism amid a dangerous crisis of human and religious values, and a growing drift towards ethical and cultural relativism.

"In this context there is an urgent need for renewed effort throughout the Church so as to strengthen spiritual and moral values in present-day society."

Christ is our firm hope

"History has demonstrated the absurdities to which man descends when he excludes God from the horizon of his choices and actions, and how hard it is to build a society inspired by the values of goodness, justice and fraternity, because the human being is free and his freedom remains fragile.

"In the modern age, both faith and hope have been relegated to the private and otherworldly sphere, while in day-to-day public life, confidence in scientific and economic progress has been affirmed. We all know that this progress is ambiguous: it opens up possibilities for good as well as evil, yet it is not enough to guarantee the moral welfare of society.

"Man needs to be liberated from material oppressions but, more profoundly, he must be saved from the evils that afflict the spirit. And who can save him if not God, who is Love and has revealed His face as Almighty and Merciful Father in Jesus Christ? Our firm hope is therefore Christ."

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)