AUSTRIA: Pope Benedict tells pilgrims Europe should return to trust in God

Pope Benedict XVI tells pilgrims at a mass at the Austria pilgrimage site Mariazell that Europe's future will be bleak without more children and a return to trust in God, and says his prayers are with two pilgrims who died. Pope Benedict XVI, leading a rain-drenched mass in the Austrian mountains, said on Saturday (September 8) that Europe's future will be bleak without more children and a return to trust in God and traditional values. Some 30,000 wet and cold people turned out to see the Pope at this shrine to the Virgin Mary in Mariazell, some 90 km (55 miles) southwest of Vienna on the second day of his visit to Austria. The Alpine town is home to a revered 12th century carving of the Virgin Mary. Cardinals and bishops wore clear plastic raingear over their vestments as they braved unseasonably cold weather, and volunteers handed out blankets to the elderly to keep warm during an outdoor mass. Low clouds on the snow-capped mountains forced the Pope to travel from Vienna by land instead of helicopter for the centrepiece of his Austrian visit, the 850th anniversary of the shrine's founding. However, the rain failed to deter thousands of Christian pilgrims from lining the streets of Mariazell to greet the Pope as he went past in the distinctive Popemobile. "For me, he is an incredibly intelligent and sensitive man. I read his book and read some parts more often and I'm fascinated by his writing and how he expresses himself and communicates. That is very important, especially for young people," said Anneliese Treusch, one female pilgrim. Pope Benedict wove his sermon around the theme of revitalising Christian identity in a modern Europe marked by diminishing Church participation, low birthrates and rampant consumerism: "Europe has become child-poor," he said. "We want everything for ourselves and place little trust in the future." It was the second time in as many days that the Pope decried Europe's declining birth rates. On Friday he condemned abortion, rejecting the concept that it could be considered a human right, and urged politicians enact legislation to help new families. The average birth rate in the European Union is down to about 1.5 children per woman, raising fears that an ageing population will not be able to finance pensions systems. For Europe, a faith in the future had to be linked to faith in God and a return to traditional values, the Pope said. "Where God is, there is the future," he told the shivering crowd on the grounds of the shrine. He urged his listeners to say 'yes' to love and "responsible life". Last March, Benedict criticised the European Union for excluding a mention of God and Christian roots in declarations on its 50th anniversary, saying the continent was committing a form of "apostasy of itself" by excluding God. Pope Benedict also told the crowd that his thoughts were with those who had been affected by the flooding over the past few days in Austria. He also said he was thinking of the two pilgrims who had died earlier in the day. Austrian television ORF reported on its internet site that two elderly pilgrims had collapsed and died in the morning in Mariazell before the Pope arrived in the town.

ITN Source | September 8, 2007

Tags:. .participation. .concept. .urged. .collapsed. .average