Furthermore "we have been consecrated, set ‘apart’ for the service of God and the building up of His Kingdom", and all too often "we find ourselves immersed in a world which would like to put God ‘aside’: in the homily delivered today in St. Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, on the occasion of the Mass devoted to the new altar of the cathedral, thus Benedict XVI addressed the Bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated persons and the lay faithful with a special greeting "to the seminarians amd young religious". The Pope underlined how, "In the name of human freedom and autonomy, God’s name is passed over in silence, religion is reduced to private devotion, and faith is shunned in the public square". A mentality which can also condition the faithful whereby "We too can be tempted to make the life of faith a matter of mere sentiment". "Yet, history, including the history of our time", warned the Pope "shows us that the question of God will never be silenced, and that indifference to the religious dimension of human existence ultimately diminishes and betrays man himself". (continues)
