Pope Benedict XVI was in France for three days last week. On Friday he arrived in Paris, where he was met by President Sarkozy and his wife. As regards the intellectual content of the Pope's visit, a New York Times Article says that he warned "the Parisian intelligentsia of the dangers of secularism." Sarkozy, according to France24, on his end, "renewed his call for positive secularism," which he first spoke about in Rome last year and would mean religion playing a greater role in public life. Apparently, the Pope's aim is to bring faith and reason closer together. Rachel Donadio reported that Benedict XVI's first visit to France centered on the tensions between faith and reason and that "his message went counter to a deep vein of anticlericalism in France." She also reported that the Pope is thereby calling for a "redefinition of laïcité," or secularism (the divide between church and state). The Pope also denounced "fundamentalist fanaticism," when he addressed cultural figures – including Muslim leaders – two years after his controversial speech in Regensburg.
Picture Source: France24
