Pope Benedict’s first discourse in the Czech Republic

(September 26, 2009) Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday urged the Czech Republic not to forget their Christian heritage and the harsh Communist rule and to make their voice heard as the nation addresses the challenges of the new millennium. The pope arrived in Prague on Saturday for a three-day visit to support the Catholic community in the heart of Europe.
Delivering his first discourse at Prague airport the Pontiff recalled that it was through the missionary labours of Saints Cyril and Methodius in the ninth century that the old Slavonic language first came to be written down. As apostles of the Slavic peoples and founders of their culture, they are rightly venerated as Patrons of Europe. It was in the Czech lands that the two great saints from the Byzantine tradition encountered missionaries from the Latin West. Throughout its history, the Pope said, the territory at the heart of the continent, at a crossroads between north and south, east and west, has been a meeting-point for different peoples, traditions and cultures. “Undeniably,” the Pope observed, “this has sometimes led to friction, but in the longer term it has proved to be a fruitful encounter. Hence the significant part played by the Czech lands in Europe’s intellectual, cultural and religious history – sometimes as a battleground, more often as a bridge.”
Pope Benedict noted that Czechs will be soon be marking the 20th anniversary of the 1989 Velvet Revolution, which overthrew the Communist government in a non-violent way. Pope Benedict said the revolution “happily brought a peaceful end to a time of particular hardship for this country, a time in which the flow of ideas and cultural influences was rigidly controlled. The Pope said, “If the collapse of the Berlin Wall marked a watershed in world history, it did so all the more for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, enabling them to take their rightful place as sovereign actors in the concert of nations. “Nevertheless, the cost of forty years of political repression is not to be underestimated. A particular tragedy for this land was the ruthless attempt by the Government of that time to silence the voice of the Church,” the Pope said.
The Holy Father recalled some of the illustrious Czech saints and martyrs whose fidelity to Christ spoke far louder and more eloquently than the voice of their executioners. The Holy Father particularly paid tribute to two late stalwarts of recent times - Cardinal Josef Beran, Archbishop of Prague, whose 40^th death anniversary occurs this year, and to his successor Cardinal František Tomášek, whom the Pope knew personally. Both of them, the Pope said were known for their indomitable Christian witness in the face of persecution. They, and countless brave priests, religious and lay men and women kept the flame of faith alive in this country. Now that religious freedom has been restored, the Pope called upon all the citizens of the Republic to rediscover the Christian traditions which have shaped their culture, and he invited the Christian community to continue to make its voice heard as the nation addresses the challenges of the new millennium. “Without God, man neither knows which way to go, nor even understands who He is,” the Pope said, adding, “the truth of the Gospel is indispensable for a healthy society, since it opens us to hope and enables us to discover our inalienable dignity as God’s children.”
The Pope also recalled the illustrious 19^th century Augustinian abbot of Moravia, Johann Gregor Mendel, who is regarded as the father of genetics. “The authentic progress of humanity,” the Pope said, “is best served by just such a combination of the wisdom of faith and the insights of reason.” “May the Czech people always enjoy the benefits of that happy synthesis,” the Pope wished.