By John-Henry Westen
VATICAN, May 23, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Addressing Catholic bishops from Atlantic Canada Saturday, Pope Benedict XVI warned that “Canada is today suffering from the pervasive effects of secularism.” The Pope explained that “the attempt to promote a vision of humanity apart from God’s transcendent order and indifferent to Christ’s beckoning light, removes from the reach of ordinary men and women the experience of genuine hope.”
The Pope pointed to the abysmally low Canadian birth rate as evidence of the trend.“One of the more dramatic symptoms of this mentality, clearly evident in your own region, is the plummeting birth rate,” he said.“This disturbing testimony to uncertainty and fear, even if not always conscious, is in stark contrast with the definitive experience of true love which by its nature is marked by trust, seeks the good of the beloved, and looks to the eternal.”
The Pope encouraged the bishops to be examples of unwavering faith and moral certitude for Canadians awash in moral uncertainty.“Faced with the many social ills and moral ambiguities which follow in the wake of a secularist ideology, Canadians look to you to be men of hope, preaching and teaching with passion the splendor of the truth of Christ who dispels the darkness and illuminates the way to renew ecclesial and civic life, educating consciences and teaching the authentic dignity of the person and human society,” he said.