LISBON, Portugal – Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Portugal for
a four-day visit and urged its traditionally Catholic
population not to close the door to God and religion.
For a humanity too often lacking in love and without hope for
salvation, the Gospel still represents “the source of hope,”
the pope said after landing in Lisbon May 11.
The pope’s words reflected growing Church concern that
secularization is making inroads in one of Europe’s most
traditionally Catholic countries. In a talk at Lisbon’s
airport, he reached out to non-Catholics and nonbelievers,
saying the Church was ready to live in a pluralistic society
as long as it can give witness to its beliefs.
“The Church is open to cooperating with anyone who does not
marginalize or reduce to the private sphere the essential
consideration of the meaning of life,” he said.
The 83-year-old pontiff looked happy and relaxed as he
disembarked form his Alitalia charter flight from Rome. The
ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano had forced the sporadic
closure of Portuguese airports in recent days and threatened
to disrupt the pope’s arrival, but the Lisbon airport
reopened in time.
He was met by President Anibal Cavaco Silva, a Catholic, who
said he hoped the pontiff would bring a message of hope,
justice and solidarity to a country that is under serious
economic pressure.
The pope’s motorcade took him through a residential area of
the capital, where thousands of people cheered, waved flags
and tossed flower petals along the pope’s path. Children
released yellow and white balloons as the pope passed by.
The main purpose of Pope Benedict’s trip was to visit the
sanctuary of Fatima, where Mary appeared to three shepherd
children in 1917. At the brief airport ceremony in Lisbon,
the pope said he came as a pilgrim to pay tribute to an event
that did not depend on the pope or any church authority, but
came directly from God.
At Fatima, the pope said, “Heaven itself was opened over
Portugal – like a window of hope that God opens when man
closes the door to him.”
He said Mary had come to remind people that a relationship
with God is essential for human beings, part of man’s search
for truth, goodness and beauty. Faith in Christ, he said, has
a logical impact in other spheres.
“From a wise vision of life and of the world, the just
ordering of society follows,” he said.
The pope said the separation of church and state in Portugal,
which followed the Republican revolution a century ago,
turned out to be a good thing for the church, challenging its
members to live their faith more fully.
“Living amid a plurality of value systems and ethical outlets
requires a journey to the core of one’s being and to the
nucleus of Christianity so as to reinforce the quality of
one’s witness to the point of sanctity,” he said.
For the modern Christian, he added, this mission path can
sometimes lead to the “radical choice of martyrdom.”
The pope’s visit came as cultural and political developments
were challenging Portugal’s Catholic identity. The country
legalized abortion three years ago and appeared poised to
legalize same-sex marriage later in May.
Speaking to reporters aboard his plane, the pope said
secularization in Portugal was not something new but had
taken a more radical turn in recent years. He said it was
essential that the church engage in a dialogue with culture,
making its voice and its social teachings heard.
President Silva’s welcoming speech reflected the growing
uneasiness of many Portuguese over the economic future.
Portugal’s slumping economy has prompted the government to
enact an austerity plan, triggering resentment and a series
of strikes.
Silva said the country’s people were looking to the pope for
a message of justice and solidarity, “particularly when the
effects of a global economic crisis make themselves felt, at
times brutally and unfairly.”
“The Portuguese will listen to you,” he told the pope.
Aboard his plane, the pope said the current economic crisis
had made clear that financial markets cannot operate on pure
pragmatism, without a moral and ethical dimension. He said
the Church needs to pursue a serious dialogue so that its
social teachings make an impact in the economic realm.
The pope was a guest of honor at an elaborate official
welcoming ceremony at Lisbon’s Hieronymites Monastery, a
16th-century complex from which many of the Portuguese
explorers and missionaries set out on their expeditions.
After taking a tour of the monastery, the pope entered the
ancient monastic church to pray in front of the Blessed
Sacrament.
From there, his popemobile was accompanied along Lisbon’s
main streets by a horseback unit of the Republican National
Guard to the presidential palace, where the pope held private
talkes with Silva.
