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In difficult times many people look to religious authorities for help and guidance; and religious authorities, in turn, rarely miss an opportunity to comment on current events. While Pope Benedict said he had not come to Germany “primarily to pursue particular political or economic goals, as other statesmen rightly do but, rather, to meet people and to speak about God,” he did not miss the opportunity to talk about current situation in Europe
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she and Pope Benedict XVI spoke about financial markets. She said that they discussed the need for policy makers to assert their authority over financial markets for the public good.
“We spoke about the financial markets and the fact that politicians should have the power to make policy for the people and not be driven by the markets, and that this is a very, very big task in today’s times of globalization,” Merkel told reporters
Merkel said that they also talked about Europe, a topic of “great interest” for the Pope, and European unification, which she said is “indispensable” for Germans. “It means prosperity, democracy and freedom to us,” she said. “I believe that was an important message.”
Benedict also addressed the Bundestag. “Never before in history has a pope spoken before an elected German Parliament,” said Norbert Lammert, the president of the Bundestag, who invited the pope to address lawmakers. “And seldom has a speech in this house created so much attention and interest before it was even given.”
Some members of Parliament boycotted his address but if anyone was expecting something controversial they were most likely disappointed. In comments that verged at times on the academic, the theologian Pope spoke about the importance of responsibility of political leaders, and touched on several themes at the heart of his papacy: the fight against secularism and relativism. He also called for a debate on ethics.
Speaking after another of the Pope’s addresses, Karin Kortmann, vice president of the Central Council of German Catholics said “It would be beneficial to see where we can build bridges and where the church can be an important adviser to our society in social, economic and political matters.”
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