During Mass in Glasgow on 16 September, Pope Benedict XVI urged Catholics to testify to the "wisdom and vision" of their faith in the public arena. Any society that avoids witnessing to religious values in daily life, he added, contributes to structuring a veritable moral jungle. Efforts to exclude God and God-talk from social and political conversation he said, can hasten a society’s self-destruction.
Specifying his remarks, the Pope continued:
"There are some who now seek to exclude religious belief from public discourse, to privatize it or even to paint it as a threat to equality and liberty. Yet religion is in fact a guarantee of authentic liberty and respect, leading us to look upon every person as a brother or sister…
"Society today needs clear voices which propose our right to live, not in a jungle of self-destructive and arbitrary freedoms, but in a society which works for the true welfare of its citizens and offers them guidance and protection in the face of their weakness and fragility."
Citing Scotland’s evangelizer, St. Ninian, Benedict stressed that the saint was "unafraid to be a lone voice."
No Catholic should be afraid to be a lone voice today – here as well as Britain. In fact, one authentic voice can energize an army of enthusiastic followers. This requires courage, of course, and perseverance.
Pope Benedict’s words, addressed to Scotland’s faithful, are also meant for us.
