(13 Sat 08 - RV) Pope Benedict concluded the first part of his pastoral visit to France
with an outdoor Mass on Saturday morning in front of the imposing complex of military
buildings known as ‘Les Invalides.’ Up to 200.000 people, including a number of government
leaders turned out to hear the Pope make an impassioned appeal for more vocations
to the priesthood. ‘We are not a
Church in ruins’ declared the Archbishop of Paris Cardinal André Vingt-Trois to journalists
at a press conference ahead of the Pope’s arrival in France this week. Even if the
principle of ‘laicité’ or separation of political and religious life remains the overriding
rule, he said there is a new interest in religion amongst people searching for points
of reference in such a secular society. But other Church leaders here admit that
sharply declining numbers of practising Catholics and a shortage of vocations pose
huge challenges – Bishops Michael Dubost and Jean Yves Riocreux, both from the Paris
region, told me personally they were hoping this papal visit would strengthen and
encourage Catholics who often find it hard to profess their faith in the public arena.
And they were not to be disappointed: in his homily at the open air mass on Saturday
Pope Benedict told the huge crowds of people gathered in front of the Hotel des Invalides
they should not be afraid to give their life to Christ. Many of the young people present
had spent the whole night camped out on the grass under the stars following an evening
prayer vigil and to them he said ‘do not leave Christ’s call unanswered,’ urging them
to consider a vocation to the priesthood or religious life. As the autumn sun shone
down on the crowds facing a simple raised wooden altar, the Pope denounced the vain
idols and false gods which turn people away from faith today, just as they did at
the time of the early Christian church. Money, power and the thirst for possessions,
he warned, continue to divert man from his true destiny. Instead we must use reason
and faith to free ourselves from these false idols and to seek the eternal values
of joy and hope that are found in the message of salvation. Cheering, flag waving
crowds jostled around the popemobile at the end of the Mass and lined the leafy boulevards
to catch a glimpse of the Pope before he left Paris bound for Lourdes in the afternoon.
Church leaders here will be hoping that after all the excitement had died down, those
same people will take the Pope’s words seriously to heart and perhaps find the courage
and conviction to breathe new vitality into the Church in this secular nation.