Source: Zenit
VATICAN CITY, APRIL 30, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says that during his trip to the United States, he tangibly experienced the support of the Church for his mission as Successor of Peter.
"I have had the joy of personally visiting, for the first time as the Successor of Peter, the dear people of the United States of America, to confirm the Catholics in their faith, to renew and increase fraternity with all Christians, and to announce to everyone the message of 'Christ Our Hope,'" the Holy Father said, citing the theme of the trip.
The Pontiff said that at the White House, he was "able to pay homage to this great country, which from the beginning has been constructed based on a pleasing joining together of religious, ethical and political principles, and continues to be a valid example of healthy secularism, where the religious dimension, in the diversity of its expressions, is not only tolerated but valued as the 'soul' of the nation and the fundamental guarantee of the rights and duties of the human being."
Referring to his meeting with the nation's bishops, the Pontiff said: "I was able to support my brothers in the episcopate in their difficult task of sowing the Gospel in a society marked by many contradictions, which threaten the coherence of the faithful and of the clergy themselves. I encouraged them to raise their voices on current moral and social questions and to form the lay faithful so that they be good 'leaven' in the civil community, starting from the fundamental cell that is the family.
"In this sense, I exhorted them to re-propose the sacrament of matrimony as a gift and indissoluble commitment between a man and a woman, the natural environment for the welcoming and education of children."
Article provided by ZENIT News Agency.