(September 7, 2009) Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday recalled the 70th anniversary
of the start of World War II this year saying religion should promote forgiveness,
reconciliation and peace and fight racism and totalitarianism. The Pope spoke during
his traditional Sunday “Angelus’ prayer and blessing while visiting Viterbo, a city
some 100 kms. north of Rome that once rivalled Rome as the residence for popes. Viterbo
also was the site of five papal elections, or conclaves, and is affectionately known
as the “city of popes.” The German-born Pope expressed hope that the memory of World
War II may “be a warning to all not to repeat such barbarities and to intensify the
efforts to create in our time, marked by conflicts and oppositions, an enduring peace,
transmitting above all to the new generations, a culture and a lifestyle shaped by
love, solidarity and esteem for the other.” “The contribution that religion can
and must make is particularly important in promoting forgiveness and reconciliation
against violence, racism, totalitarianism and extremism, which defile the image of
the Creator in man, erase God from the horizon and, consequently, lead to the scorn
of man himself,” the Pope said. The start of World War II is linked with Germany's
pre-dawn attack on September 1, 1939, when a German battleship fired on a Polish military
base in Gdansk harbour. The attack set off a chain of events that eventually embroiled
all of the world's major powers in the war. Earlier at a Mass in Viterbo, Pope
Benedict underscored the importance of Christian charitable works and social action,
especially in the field of education and catechesis. Delivering his homily, he underlined
the priority of “education in the faith,” understood as “life in Christ.” The Pontiff
affirmed that “catechists and all educators are called to commit themselves,” as well
as schools from primary age to the universities. He pointed to the example of saints
such as St. Rosa Venerini and St. Lucia Filippini, stating, “One could still happily
draw from these spiritual sources to confront, with lucidity and coherence, the current
inescapable and pressing 'educational emergency,' a great challenge for every Christian
community and for society as a whole ...” Along with education, the Holy Father emphasized
the importance of “the testimony of the faith.” The Church's initiatives and charitable
works are “signs of faith in and love of God, who is Love,” he affirmed. Among these
charitable works, he mentioned the consecrated persons in cloistered monasteries,
who are “a visible reminder of the primacy of God in our existence” and who “show
us that prayer is the first form of charity.” “Listening to his word and discerning
his signs must be the work of every Christian community,” the Pope said, adding, “The
most immediate of God's signs is certainly care for one's neighbour....”