"The need to strengthen Christian education through a more robust catechesis; the endless commitment to putting God more and more at the centre of the life of our communities; great care for the callings to priesthood and consecrated life, as well as concern for the lifelong education and the conditions in which priests live and work", these are the most urgent priorities for the Italian Church, which today Benedict XVI recalled to the Bishops of the Italian Bishops Conference, gathered for their 57th plenary meeting. Next to "reassuring positive realities", as shown during the recent visit ad limina, which "taught me the inner geography of Italy" -, "in Italy, faith is alive and deeply rooted, and the Church is one of people’s realities, extensively close to people and families" . In addition, the Pope mentioned "the weight of a culture imbued with moral relativism, poor in certainties and rich in often groundless claims". Hence his warning to the Bishops: "as Italian Bishops, you have a specific responsibility, not just towards the Churches that are in your care, but towards the whole country as well. While fully and amicably respecting the distinction between Church and politics, we cannot help taking care of what is good for man, the creature and image of God: in other words, of the common good of Italy".
