Pope seeks to combat secularism with Protestant allies

BERLIN — All faiths have to work together to stanch the tide of secularism sweeping the world, warned Pope Benedict XVI on Sept. 23 during the second day of a tour through his native Germany. Benedict focused on ecumenical meetings, including a service with Lutheran ministers in the city of Erfurt, where Protestant reformer Martin Luther began to harbor his first doubts about Catholicism.

“The most urgent thing for ecumenicalism is, namely, that we can’t allow the push of secularism to force us, almost without noticing, to lose sight of the major similarities that make us Christians, and which remain a gift and a challenge for us,” the pope said. The message in Germany, home to many Lutherans, was warmly received, though newspaper commentators said they had hoped for more concrete steps toward reconciliation rather than just an exchange of ideas. “The more the world moves away from God, the more clear it becomes that man, in the hubris of power, the void in his heart and in the longing for fulfillment and happiness, is losing ever more touch with his life,” Benedict preached during the Erfurt service.

“That’s why, during an ecumenical meeting, we shouldn’t just be dismayed by the divisions and separation, but we should thank God for all He has done to retain our unity and what He continues to give us.”