Pope Benedict XVI has returned to what has become the predominant theme in his 18-month-old pontificate, saying that the "snares of secularism are present everywhere" - including the Church. During a speech on 19 October before a major Italian ecclesial congress in Verona, the Pope said that a positive witness of Christian faith was the best way to respond to "the challenges of our times".

The 79-year-old former theology professor said one of the most serious of these is the risk of Europe losing its Christian roots, a topic he touched upon again in two separate speeches on 21 and 23 October to pontifical university students and professors in Rome. In his message to the Fourth National Ecclesial Convention, the Pope said that the way the Church community must combat this threat of secularisation is by becoming "true witnesses of the risen Christ" in order to bring Christian joy and hope to the world.

"We must learn to resist that ‘internal secularisation' that ensnares the Church of our times, following the processes of secularisation that have deeply marked European civilisation," he said, and commented that Western culture had become impoverished by its attempts to exclude God from public life. For example, he said that ethics had been "reduced to the confines of relativism and utilitarianism".

Regarding political questions, Pope Benedict said the Church did not intend to be a "political agent", but that the lay faithful were called to "confront ... political and legislative choices that contradict fundamental values and anthropological and ethical principles rooted in human nature". These, he said, included the "safeguarding of human life in all its phases" and the "promotion of the family founded on marriage", which meant opposing other juridical forms of unions. The Pope praised Italian Catholics for resisting same-sex unions, saying this was a "precious service" to the country and an encouragement for other nations.

In a speech last Saturday while inaugurating a new library (named for Pius IX) and a great hall (named for himself) at the Pontifical Lateran University, Pope Benedict again lamented Europe's crisis of identity and culture.

Then on Monday, after a Mass in St Peter's Basilica for the inauguration of the academic year for all of Rome's pontifical universities, the Pope said students must give priority to their spiritual life, balanced human maturity, and a deep ascetic and religious formation.

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