For Pope without God a society does not know where to go

(July 25, 2009) During the celebration of Vespers in Aosta’s cathedral Pope Benedict XVI spoke about the Church’s mission to tell the world about God and his power. The Holy Father explained that we must find ways to let people know about God again, “remind” them and the world about him because a society without God “has no compass, no direction.” We must make people realise that real power that of the Almighty, is forgiveness and mercy, unlike “Stalin who wondered how many divisions the Vatican had.” The Pope spoke during one of the rare public appearances he made during his short holiday in Italy’s mountain region of Valle d’Aosta. Despite an accident in which he broke his right wrist, he appeared quite relaxed, smiling, readily greeting thousands of people, who lined up the road and assembled in the cathedral. The Holy Father began his homily saying that “in my recent Encyclical I tried to show how God is a priority in our personal history and in that of society and the world.” Of course, he noted, God as a personal priority is “fundamental; if it is not active it is experienced” and “all other priorities cannot find their true form.” He added that “There are common elements. Everyone knows that God exists; that there is only one God; that the gods are not God.” The Pope said, “Evangelisation consists precisely in the fact that the far off God truly comes closer, that he lets us get to know him, reveals himself.” During his address the Pope also mentioned a Roman prayer that asks God to show his omnipotence through forgiveness and mercy and that God’s power is strongest because “he can suffer with us”. In so doing, he “shows us his true power so that in our suffering we are never alone.” Finally the Pontiff declared God can transform our world by letting his “river of goodness flow mightier than all the evil found in it.