Sunday, December 11th, during a visit to the Roman parish of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Casal Boccone, Benedict XVI, struck by the enthusiasm and simplicity with which he was received, turning to the parish priest, Father Domenico Monteforte, said: «It’s wonderful, I feel like I’m in Africa……"
The trip to Benin last November, along with the experience of World Youth Day that was positive beyond expectations, have marked Pope Ratzinger. He recalled precisely these two moments in his speech to the Roman Curia for the traditional exchange of Christmas greetings.
The Pope spoke of the great challenge of the Gospel: «How can faith, as a living and vital force, now become a reality?». And he said: «Faithful believers, but also strangers observe how the people who go to church regularly are becoming older and their number decreases continuously; as though there is a stagnation in vocations to the priesthood; skepticism and disbelief are growing». What can we do? «There are - the Pope said - endless discussions about what can be done to reverse this trend. And certainly there are many things that can be done. But doing alone does not solve the problem. The crux of the crisis in the Church in Europe is the crisis of faith. If we do not find an answer to it, if faith does not resume vitality, and becomes a deep conviction and true force thanks to the encounter with Jesus Christ, all other reforms will be ineffective».
And here Benedict XVI introduced Africa. «The meeting in Africa - he explained - with the joyful passion for the faith has been of great encouragement. There one does not perceive any sign of the weariness in faith, so common among us, none of the tedium of being a Christian which we always perceptible. With all the problems, all the pains and suffering which are certainly present in Africa, one could however always perceive the joy of being Christian, being supported by the inner happiness to know Christ and to belong to his Church. This joy also gives birth to the energy to serve Christ in overwhelming situations of human suffering, to place oneself at his disposal, without thinking of personal wellbeing. To meet this faith ready for sacrifice, and because of this joyful, is a great medicine against the fatigue of being Christians that we experience in Europe».
The Pope, unjustly regarded as «Eurocentric», shows a way, invites us to look to the strength of the testimony of the young Churches, far too often distant from our horizon. And also invites us to look at young people: «A medicine against fatigue in believing was also the great experience of World Youth Day in Madrid. A new evangelization was lived». One "rejuvenated way of being a Christian» which Benedict XVI broke down into five points.
The first is a «new experience of catholicity, the universality of the Church»: young people around the world who have never seen each other before, who speak different languages, «and yet - the Pope said - we are now joined together like a big family. Separation and external differences are only relative. We are all touched by the one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the true being of man was made known to us, and together, the very face of God». Ratzinger defines the liturgy celebrated together «a kind of homeland for the heart which joins us into a big family. The fact that all human beings are brothers and sisters is not only an idea here, but becomes a real common experience that creates a joy».