The desire to see and know God is innate in everyone, even nonbelievers, Pope Benedict XVI said. But it’s especially important people don’t just seek God when they need him, but make room for him throughout their busy lives, he said during his weekly general audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall Jan. 16.
At the end of the audience, the pope also greeted U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who was raised Catholic. The brief encounter came during the so-called “baciamano,” that is, the moment when the pope offers a select group of prelates and special guests a brief handshake one-by-one rather than a private audience. The pope spoke at length with the former CIA director, who was smiling and gently holding both of the pope’s hands, and gave him one of the medallions reserved for special guests. Panetta, who was stepping down as Pentagon chief, was in Rome as part of a Europe-wide tour to meet with European defense ministers to discuss the conflicts in Afghanistan and Mali.
During his catechesis dedicated to the Year of Faith, the pope said, “The desire to really know God, that is, to see the face of God, exists in everyone, even atheists.” It can even be an unconscious desire to simply know “who is he, what is he for us?” the pope said.