Aid to the Church in Need Celebrates 60 Years
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, SEPT. 18, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI greeted the leaders of the charity organization Aid to the Church in Need, saying their work is "an eloquent testimony to the love of God."
The Pope said this Sunday during the Angelus greeting, which was attended by the group's directors. They were meeting in an international conference last Thursday through Sunday to mark the organization's 60th anniversary.
The Holy Father assured the group of "the prayers and gratitude of the Successor of Peter." And he sent a letter of congratulations to the organization, in which he said one of the biggest issues in today's world is "the fact that God has been forgotten by so many people and by entire societies."
He said the pressure of secularism and relativism "as the dominant and sometimes dictatorial cultural tendency" has "forced many people, including not a few baptized Christians, into a situation of practical alienation from God."
Priorities
The Pontiff encouraged Aid to the Church in Need to continue its work of investing resources in the formation of vocations and committed laypeople.
He drew particular attention to two areas. Noting that the media exercise an "enormous influence today on human culture and life," he said this field could "achieve great things for the spread of the good news of the Gospel of Christ and the promotion of Christian values."
The Church urgently needs people "through whom God can be made increasingly present in this wide field," the Bishop of Rome added.
Second, Benedict XVI noted the situation of some local Churches in the Middle East, saying their existence is being threatened.
They are either "forbidden or permitted only under severe limitations to communally and publicly profess their faith," he said.
The Holy Father concluded by giving his apostolic blessing to all the staff and benefactors of the Germany-based charity organization.
ZE07091810 - 2007-09-18