By Gabriel Borrud
Deutsche Welle
September 18, 2011
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15396974,00.html
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| Millions came to see the pope during his last trip to Germany |
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| Merkel said the Pope's visit was a reminder of Europe's Christian roots |
German Chancellor Merkel urged Christians to unite against the advance of secularism in a message ahead of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Germany next week, which has been widely criticized.
In her weekly video podcast, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Christians to reflect on what unites them in the face of rising secularism in an attempt to soothe controversy surrounding Pope Benedict's XVI visit to Germany next week.
"I think it is important to constantly reinforce the unity of Christians at a time when we are confronted by a growing secularism," Merkel said. "What the Christian faith has in common should always be remembered," she said.
"When the Pope visits Germany, he is also visiting the country of the Reformation," Merkel, the daughter of a Lutheran pastor who grew up in the Communist East added.
Merkel said the Pope's visit was a reminder of Germany and Europe's Christian roots, giving the strength and inspiration to fight against all religious persecution. The 500th anniversary of the German Reformation will be in 2017.
Visit dodged by controversy
The Pope's first state visit to his native Germany from September 22-25 will take him to the mostly atheist former East Germany. It will include an address in Berlin's vast Nazi-era Olympic Stadium as well as a meeting in Erfurt, one-time home of Protestant reformer Martin Luther, to discuss ways Catholics and Protestants can work together.
But the visit has prompted widespread criticism in Germany, with some 100 left-wing parliamentarians vowing to boycott a speech by the Pope in the Bundestag on Friday. They say it violates the strict church-state divide in Germany.
A wave of demonstrations is expected to follow the 84-year-old pontiff throughout the trip, in particular on the first day in Berlin, when at least 20,000 people are expected to protest during the speech planned in front of parliament.
Protesters include groups representing victims of clerical sex abuse, dissenting Catholics and theologians calling for church reforms and gay rights supporters decrying the Vatican's moral "backwardness."
'No religious tourism': Pope
But in comments broadcast on German television on Sunday, Pope Benedict insisted that the visit would focus on returning God to the center of Germany's increasingly secular society
"I am already thrilled at the prospect [of the visit]," Benedict said at the start of his talk, which was the second time that a Pope has ever appeared on the Sunday program "Das Wort zum Sonntag" after John Paul II became the first in 1987.
Benedict used the airtime to address indirectly the criticism that his visit has sparked.
"All this isn't about religious tourism and even less about a spectacle," the Pope said.
"The important thing will be to think together in that place, to listen to the word of God and to pray … We must allow God to penetrate our field of vision."
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