Pope Benedict meets Helmut Kohl and lay Catholics [text of address]

On the third day of his pastoral journey to his native Germany, Pope Benedict's packed programme included an ecumenical encounter, a meeting with seminarians, private talks with one of the nation's best known statesmen and a very public greeting for the people of Freiburg. Veronica Scarisbrick is in Germany and sent this report on the events of Saturday afternoon......
A change of gear is always demanding and when you're 84 it must prove even more so. Just think six engagements and four speeches in less than three hours. But why don't I attempt to tell you about Benedict XVI's Saturday afternoon in Freiburg, the city whose inhabitants decided in 1520 not to take part in the Reformation, proving their independence from outside influence. The city was not named Freiburg meaning “free borough” for nothing.

The Pope arrived here by car and when in the gleaming sun the red sand stone cathedral with its giant pierced spire appeared on the horizon he knew he'd reached Catholic territory here in the South West tip of Germany, ruled for centuries by the Catholic Habsburgs.

He looked relaxed and went straight to the 13th century Cathedral the 'Munster' as they call it,dedicated to Our Lady Entering through the main portal and into the nave with its kaleidoscope stained glass window and right up to the high altar with the masterful triptych of the Coronation of Our Lady.

He wasn’t there long and when he left he stepped out into the the Munster Platz or Cathedral Square and greeted the authorities and the delighted and rowdy crowds of Freiburg .

At this point the Pope had almost reached the venue for another four of his afternoon meetings: the 'Collegium Borromeum ' the local Seminary right next door to the Cathedral. He had an appointment there in the Chapel with 60 seminarians, a meeting which included moments of prayer, a photo opportunity and an informal talk during which he focused on the importance of the universality of the Church and of the importance of studying the relationship between faith and reason.
That’s not before having met with fifteen representatives of the various Orthodox churches within the nation led by Metropolitan Augustinos . While the Pope on this ecumenical occasion expressed his joy at the meeting, he also clarified how there needs to be ongoing work to iron out theological differences in an effort to reach full unity. He then pointed to a common engagement within the area of shared values in a world where society does without God.

And then there was the second dedicated Catholic moment of the afternoon. It was with a lay organization which in Germany wields a lot of influence, even Catholic members of Parliament adhere to it. Surprising at a time in history when Catholics, and indeed Protestants have lost much of their influence in public life. An organisation called 'Zentralkomitee derr Deutschen Katholiken' , or 'Central Committee of German Catholics ' led by its President Mr Alois Gluck. An organization of lay apostolate founded in 1952 which grew out of an earlier 19^th century movement. One which seamlessly combines independence with loyalty to the Church, and commitment within the Church with social and political action.

For them the Holy Father had words which focused around new evangelization. He highlighted how high standards of living do not exclude poverty in human relations and poverty in the religious sphere.
Continuing in his speech he remarked how many people lack experience of the goodness of God. How they no longer find any point of contact with the mainstream Churches and their traditional structures.
The Pope then insisted that the real crisis facing the Church in the western world is one of faith. We are called, he said, to seek new paths evangelization.

But perhaps the most personal encounter the Pope had on Saturday afternoon in Freiburg was the first. One he personally requested. It was with the architect of the 1990 reunification of Germany and promoter of Europe, former Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl and took place behind closed doors.

And the last? Well that’s with the young people of Germany. Those who will shape the future of the nation. And no doubt the motto of the journey “Where God is, there is the future”, will act in the darkness of the night as a beacon of light.

Pope to lay Catholics in Freiburg

On Saturday afternoon, Pope Benedict met with members of the Central Committee of German lay Catholics (Zentralkomitee der deutschen Katholiken, ZdK) at the seminary in Freiburg.

Read the full text of the Pope's speech:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am grateful for this opportunity to come together, here in Freiburg, with you, the Council Members of the Central Committee for German Catholics (ZdK). I gladly express to you my appreciation for your work in publicly representing the concerns of Catholics and in giving impetus to the apostolate of the Church and of Catholics in society. I also thank the President of the ZdK, Herr Alois Glück, for his kind greeting.
Dear friends, for some years now, development aid has included what are known as “exposure programmes”. Leaders from the fields of politics, economics and religion live among the poor in Africa, Asia, or Latin America for a certain period and share the day-to-day reality of their lives. They are exposed to the circumstances in which these people live, in order to see the world through their eyes and hence to learn how to practise solidarity.
Let us imagine that an exposure programme of this kind were to take place here in Germany. Experts from a far country would arrive to spend a week with an average German family. They would find much to admire here, for example the prosperity, the order and the efficiency. But looking on with unprejudiced eyes, they would also see plenty of poverty: poverty in human relations and poverty in the religious sphere.
We live at a time that is broadly characterized by a subliminal relativism that penetrates every area of life. Sometimes this relativism becomes aggressive, when it opposes those who claim to know where the truth or meaning of life is to be found.
And we observe that this relativism exerts more and more influence on human relationships and on society. This is reflected, among other things, in the inconstancy and fragmentation of many people’s lives and in an exaggerated individualism. Many no longer seem capable of any form of self-denial or of making a sacrifice for others. Even the altruistic commitment to the common good, in the social and cultural sphere or on behalf of the needy, is in decline. Others are now quite incapable of committing themselves unreservedly to a single partner. People can hardly find the courage now to promise to be faithful for a whole lifetime; the courage to make a decision and say: now I belong entirely to you, or to take a firm stand for fidelity and truthfulness and sincerely to seek a solution to their problems.
Dear friends, in the exposure programme, analysis is followed by common reflection. This evaluation must take into account the whole of the human person, and this includes – not just implicitly but quite clearly – the person’s relationship to the Creator.
We see that in our affluent western world much is lacking. Many people lack experience of God’s goodness. They no longer find any point of contact with the mainstream churches and their traditional structures. But why is this? I think this is a question on which we must reflect very seriously. Addressing it is the principal task of the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization. But naturally it is something that concerns us all. Allow me to refer here to an aspect of Germany’s particular situation. The Church in Germany is superbly organized. But behind the structures, is there also a corresponding spiritual strength, the strength of faith in a living God? We must honestly admit that we have more than enough by way of structure but not enough by way of Spirit. I would add: the real crisis facing the Church in the western world is a crisis of faith. If we do not find a way of genuinely renewing our faith, all structural reform will remain ineffective.
Let us return to the people who lack experience of God’s goodness. They need places where they can give voice to their inner longing. Here we are called to seek new paths of evangelization. Small communities could be one such path, where friendships are lived and deepened in regular communal adoration before God. There we find people who speak of these small faith experiences at their workplace and within their circle of family and friends, and in so doing bear witness to a new closeness between Church and society. They come to see more and more clearly that everyone stands in need of this nourishment of love, this concrete friendship with others and with the Lord. Of continuing importance is the link with the vital life-source that is the Eucharist, since cut off from Christ we can do nothing (cf. Jn 15:5).
Dear brothers and sisters, may the Lord always point out to us how together we can be lights in the world and can show our fellow men the path to the source at which they can quench their profound thirst for life.

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