Pope Benedict XVI warned of the consequences of a climate of indifference or even hostility to faith in increasingly secularized Spain and the dangers presented by the current difficult economic climate. Pope Benedict told the new Spanish ambassador to the Vatican that the role of the church and the help it can offer should not be overlooked, especially in such hard times. The pope made his remarks April 16 when Maria Figa Lopez-Palop presented her diplomatic credentials at the Vatican. She is the first female ambassador in the long diplomatic history between Spain and the church, which were first established in the 15th century. Pope Benedict said that the increasingly secular society in Spain “does not favor openness to transcendence” and demonstrates “sophisticated forms of hostility to the faith.” In certain sectors, he said, “religion is considered socially insignificant, even troublesome,” with the result that faith is marginalized “through defamation, ridicule, even indifference to evident cases of profanation” of religious objects and monuments. He said that while the economic problems of Spain, especially unemployment, are “truly worrisome,” the church is in a unique position with its diverse institutions to help those in difficulty. The church, he said, watches over fundamental human rights, including “the right to human life from its beginning to its natural end.” VATICAN CITY (CNS)
Clip below: Benedict XVI received Maria Jesus Figa Lopez-Palop, the first woman to serve as Spanish Ambassador to the Holy See. The Pope also met her husband and children. While speaking with the ambassador, Benedict XVI recalled his visit to Santiago de Compostela and Barcelona this past November.