Pope Benedict: The State must guarantee the free exercise of worship

Pope Benedict XVI on Monday affirmed the Catholic Church does not just contribute to society just at a practical level through humanitarian and educational assistance, but tries to help the ethical growth of society.

He made his remarks while welcoming the new Ambassador to the Holy See from Brazil, Almir Franco de Sá Barbuda.

In his remarks to the Ambassador, Pope Benedict said the Church “hopes that the state…recognizes that a healthy secularism should not consider religion a mere human feeling which can be relegated to the private sphere, but as a reality which is not only organized in a visible structure, but which much be recognized by the public community.”

Referencing the concordat signed between Brazil and the Holy See in 2008, the Pope said, “far from being a source of privileges for the Church or an affront to the secularism of the state, [the agreement] only tries to give an official character and legal recognition to the independence and collaboration between the two entities”

The Holy Father said the State must guarantee the free exercise of worship, as well as the freedom of religious organizations to conduct cultural, educational, and charitable work.

The Pope made specific reference to the guarantees in the 2008 agreement allowing for the religious education of children in public schools. He said this does not hurt the secular nature of the State, but guarantees the rights of parents in choosing a proper education for their children.

He told the ambassador the Brazilian government knows it can count on the Church as a privileged partner in its initiatives combating hunger and poverty.

Pope Benedict also expressed his gratitude and appreciation for the help offered by the various levels of government in Brazil in support of the XXVIII World Youth Day scheduled to be held in 2013 in Rio de Janeiro.

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