The American church "is called to respond to the profound religious needs and aspirations of a society increasingly in danger of forgetting its spiritual roots and yielding to a purely materialistic and soulless vision of the world," John Paul said.
"Taking up this challenge, however, will require a realistic and comprehensive reading of the 'signs of the times,' in order to develop a persuasive presentation of the Catholic faith and prepare young people especially to dialogue with their contemporaries about the Christian message and its relevance to the building of a more just, humane and peaceful world."
John Paul added: "An effective proclamation of the Gospel in contemporary Western society will need to confront directly the widespread spirit of agnosticism and relativism which has cast doubt on reason's ability to know the truth, which alone satisfies the human heart's restless quest for meaning."
The Gospel of Christ and the natural moral law are not simply "relavant" to building a more just, humane, and peaceful world, but the *only* way to accomplish this task. The Pope of course understands this and simply writes with the tone of respect he ordinarily takes towards the rest of the world.
But the Church establishment in the US doesn't seem to grasp these kinds of distinctions. In my Generation-X lifetime they have largely conformed the Church to the direction of the culture.
In doing so they have culpably and grossly failed to take up Second Vatican Council's call to sanctify the temporal order--to become Christ in the world, so that the Church is a principle of leaven in the world, not simply a pale reflection of it.
Our fellow citizens are starving for the Bread of Life, the Word Incarnate. But US dioceses largely feed us inspid liturgy, wink at mortal sin, and offer easy annulments. All of these things proclaim rather clearly a lack of faith in the doctrinal and moral vision of salvation given by Christ.
A principal source of this failure is the bishops appointed by Paul VI and by John Paul--bishops who largely didn't insist upon good liturgy, morally and doctrinally sound seminaries and colleges, and bold teaching from the pulpit. Bishops who conformed the Church to the culture.
Challenging the secularized American culture has to start inside our own dioceses first.
"Materialistic and soulless"? This just shows how out of touch the Holy Father is. Has he seen how big our televisions are? They're GIGANTIC! How soulless is that?
Another example of the frail Pope cracking down on dissidents, I see!
Some further thoughts:
If the Pope wants to see a really soulless culture, he should look at his own super-secular Europe (or Canada). Whatever our faults, Americans take religion far more seriously than do Europeans or Canadians. Could one imagine a Kerry-Communion controversy taking place in, say, Holland?
Also: appointing the cardinal (Law) who has done more than any other to destroy the Church's witness in the US, to one of Rome's four major basilicas with a $12,000/ month stipend, doesn't send a suggestion of "soul" as the Church's first priority. The only place other than a well-deserved jail cell that Law should inhabit, is a monastic cell, leaving only to do works of mercy like helping in soup kitchens.