An "increasingly secular society, which puts humanity and the world at the edge of transcendence, is taking hold in every aspect of everyday life, spreading a mentality in which God is absent from human conscience and existence." That is what Pope Benedict XVI said today to the bishops of Panama on their ad limina visit. This mentality "is often using mass media to spread individualism, hedonism, habits and ideologies that undermine the foundations of marriage, family and Christian morality," he said. The Pope praised the activities of missionary men and women in Panama and the fact that "many families are living the Christian values in their country with self-denial, amongst the many difficulties that threaten the solidity of conjugal love, responsible parenthood and the harmony and stability of weddings." "No effort will be enough to develop a strong family ministry that will invite people to discover the beauty of vocations to Christian marriage, to defend human life from conception until natural death as well as to build a home life in which children are raised in love and taught the truth of the Gospel and solid human values," Pope Benedict said. ” “
