"Confirming the Catholics in their faith to renew and increase fraternity with all Christians and to announce the message of ‘Christ our Hope’ to everyone". With these words, the Pope, during today’s general audience, summarised the purpose of his eighth apostolic journey that took place in the United States from April 15th to 21st. In his meeting with president Bush, said Benedict XVI to the about 20 thousand devotees in Saint Peter’s Square, "I had the opportunity to pay tribute to that great country, which since its dawn has been built on a successful combination of religious, lay and political principles and that is still a good example of healthy laicism, where the religious dimension, in the diversity of its expressions, is not only tolerated but also enhanced as the ‘soul’ of the nation and as the fundamental guarantee of human rights and duties". In this scenario, according to the Pope, "the Church can freely and seriously carry out its mission for the evangelisation and promotion of man and also as a ‘critical conscience’, contributing to the building of a society worthy of the human being and pushing such a country as the United States, which everybody looks to as one of the main players on the international scene, towards global solidarity, which is becoming increasingly essential and urgent, and towards the patient practice of dialogue in international relations".
