Papal visit seen as bringing new hope to secularized Spain
(Aug.10, 2011) As young people begin to arrive in Madrid for World Youth Day (WYD), the apostolic nuncio in Spain predicts that the event, and the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI, will bring a new wind into a society that has been sapped by secularism. Archbishop Renzo Fratini told Vatican Radio on Tuesday that many young people feel disillusioned in today’s Spain, and many are looking for hope. The Pope’s visit, he said, could help “encourage a spiritual rebirth of the nation.” The apostolic nuncio also saw special importance in the fact that Pope Benedict asked that his schedule be organised to allow time to hear confessions. That choice, he said, underlines the fact that “the Christian life really starts from an inner renewal, from a conversion and the return to God.” The essential message of WYD, Archbishop Fratini said, is similar – “a call to rediscover the foundations of the fundamental choice of Christian life.”
WYD begins next week in the Spanish capital Madrid on August 16th and concludes 21st August. Pope Benedict is scheduled to attend from
18-21st August.
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