Secularism and the Church
Channel: Father Paddy Walsh
Date: 2018-05-29

Benedict XVI when he was the reigning Pope attacked the rise of aggressive secularism in Western society which is at risk of drifting into, what he calls "deserts of godlessness". During his Good Friday sermon, he compared the deliberate attempts to purge religion from public life to the mockery of Jesus by the mob as he was led out to be crucified. For a lot of secularists 'religious sentiments' are increasingly ranked among the unwelcome leftovers of a bygone age. The sense of the sacred has been allowed to erode from the political and civil landscape. Values and norms which held societies together and drew people to higher ideals have been thrown overboard.