Castelgandolfo, Jul. 14 (CWNews.com/LifeSiteNews.com) – At his regular Sunday public audience, held at his summer residence in Castelgandolfo, Pope John Paul II mourned the steady erosion of Christian culture in Europe. Speaking to visitors in the courtyard of his summer residence, the Holy Father said that a “silent apostasy” is spreading through Europe, as “men who are sated live as if God did not exist.”
This loss of faith, the Pope continued, comes at a critical time, when Europe is moving closer toward political union. That union, he said, would be seriously undermined if its leaders seek to build a European Union “without God and without Christ.” He warned that Europe, “the cradle of human rights, risks a loss of its own foundation, which is being eroded by relativism and utilitarianism.” The Pontiff also observed that the absence of faith can be seen in the pessimism that afflicts contemporary European culture. He said that the problem stems from “a certain loss of Christian memory, accompanied by a sort of fear to face the future.” The remedy, he said, can be found only in Christ, who inspires hope and confidence in the future.