Pope hails cloistered religious life, urges road safety

(Nov. 20, 2006) Cloistered monasteries are like the "green lungs" of a city - beneficial for all, including those who don't even know these religious houses exist, says Pope Benedict XVI. Before reciting the midday Angelus with several thousand people gathered on Sunday in St. Peter's Square, the Pope recalled that this Tuesday the Church will celebrate "pro Orantibus" Day, dedicated to recalling the religious communities of contemplative life.
"Some wonder about the meaning and value of their presence in our time, in which many urgent situations of poverty and need must be addressed," the Holy Father acknowledged in his address delivered from the window of his study. "Why 'shut oneself' forever behind the walls of a monastery and deprive others of the contribution of one's talents and experiences?" he asked. "What efficacy can prayer have to resolve the numerous concrete problems that continue to afflict humanity?" The Holy Father responded: "These brothers and sisters silently witness that in the midst of daily vicissitudes, at times extremely convulsive, God is the only support that never falters, unbreakable rock of fidelity and love. … "… Monasteries of contemplative life,” the Pope explained, “appear as 'oases' in which man, a pilgrim on earth, can go to the sources of the Spirit and slake his thirst along the way." These places, "apparently useless, are, on the contrary, indispensable, like the green 'lungs' of a city," the Pope contended. "They are beneficial for all, including for those who do not visit them or perhaps do not know that they exist," the Pope said and urged spiritual and material support. for contemplative religious in monasteries and hermitages.
After reciting the Angelus, the Pope appealed for respect of road-safety norms on the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. Pope Benedict also spoke in English:
Remembering that the injured often suffer long-lasting problems, the Pope appealed "emphatically to automobile drivers to respect traffic norms vigilantly and to pay ever more attention to others."
Traffic accidents are one of the main causes of deaths in the world. In a 2005 report, the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that these accidents, especially frequent in urban areas of developing countries, cause 1.2 million deaths a year, or 3,000 a day. Tens of millions of people are injured. WHO estimated that, at current trends, by the year 2020 victims of traffic accidents will exceed those of AIDS.