Pope vists Viterbo

(September 7, 2009) Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday recalled the 70^th 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....”