Says Pope Combined Spirituality and Modern Times
VATICAN CITY, MAY 14, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI's message to the general conference of the episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean combined a spiritual message with the realities of modern times, says the Vatican spokesman.
Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, commented on the message the Pope delivered Sunday to open the 5th General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean.
"The Pope's speech began with the proclamation of God, who is love, and went on to talk about the life of the Church in which this proclamation is carried out, cultivated and spread," Father Lombardi said on Vatican Radio.
"The Pope's speech, however, was not simply spiritualistic, cut off from the reality of the surrounding world," the Vatican spokesman added. "It was a response to those who asked him how the Church would respond to the challenges that come from the great injustices and imbalances of this continent -- challenges that were dealt with in the past, and that are still around today, sometimes based on different ideologies -- on one hand materialistic liberalism and on the other Marxism."
Father Lombardi continued: "The Pope responded with a balanced and profound discourse distinguishing the Church's task of proclaiming God's word from the strictly political task, making clear the Church's role in teaching values, giving a religious view of the person and the reality that is essential -- so that it will not be seen in reductive terms, as something merely material.
"And therefore one should not search for solutions that are partial at best, that result in negative consequences.
"The values of love and justice that we receive from the Gospel and the Church's preaching help those who are building social, economic and political structures to find an ever greater justice, to find solutions that are rational and upright, that are aware of the entire human person."
The Vatican spokesman quoted the Holy Father in saying that "the Church is not directly involved in politics, but is an advocate of justice and of the poor."
Father Lombardi also underlined the Pope's observation of the need for lay Catholics in politics in Latin America: "The characterizing task of the laity is that of transforming the world, making it more just, more human, making it better able to respond to the needs of a respectful coexistence for everyone, in harmony and with justice for all members of society."
Code: ZE07051401
Date: 2007-05-14