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	Benedict's Message Rutland Herald April 19, 2008 http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080419/OPINION/804190309/1018 The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States has inspired the faithful of the Roman Catholic Church and given others much to think about. The faithful includes about one in five Americans, which is not a slim demographic slice, but a sizable and growing segment of the population. The continuing influx of Latino immigrants has strengthened the church in America, just as the influx of Irish, Italian and Polish immigrants did in the past. The church sexual abuse scandal has been on the top of the minds of millions of Catholics who have been dispirited by the betrayal of trust perpetrated by abusive priests and by the bishops who covered up their crimes. The effects of the scandal continue to be felt in Vermont and elsewhere, and it has opened up a host of questions among American Catholics about church doctrine on such matters as priestly celibacy and the ordination of women. Non-Catholics are concerned about the scandals because sexual abuse is not just a sin; it is a crime. It is in the interest of no one for a religious institution with millions of loyal followers, which has had profound and positive effect on the nation in myriad ways, to mire itself in the pathology of crime and cover-up. The pope addressed the scandal by acknowledging the pain felt by abuse victims and the betrayal of those who abused them. On Thursday he met with a group of victims to hear their stories. During his visit the pope's words contained a challenge to all thinking people, Catholic or not. As columnist E.J. Dionne wrote in The Washington Post, Benedict's message was "countercultural" in a fundamental sense because it challenged the secular, materialistic culture that dominates the West. His message challenges the secularist tendency that consigns religion to the private sphere. "Any tendency to treat religion as a private matter must be resisted," he said. "Only when their faith permeates every aspect of their lives do Christians become truly open to the transforming power of the Gospel." How should religion permeate the public sphere? In Benedict's view ignoring or marginalizing the poor is contrary to the faith. So is irresponsible sexual behavior or irreverence for life. At the United Nations he said respect for human rights was essential in solving the world's problems. Americans of the left and right can imagine the private conversation that Benedict might have had with President Bush. "Good job on the right to life," he might have said. "But when it comes to torture, Mr. President, I'm afraid you have lost your way." Benedict's message represents a challenge to the radical individualism that isolates people from one another in secular society, either in the pursuit of riches or of pleasure. "In a society which values personal freedom and autonomy," Benedict said, "it is easy to lose sight of our dependence on others as well as the responsibilities that we bear towards them ... We were created as social beings who find fulfillment only in love —for God and for our neighbor." It is a message with lessons for us all.
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