Pope Benedict XVI calls the young to a higher moral standard

In each World Youth Day message from the past, the Roman Pontiff has been the only world leader to consistently call youth to a high moral standard of living. He is the lone voice entreating the young to pursue greatness. In his message inviting the youth to participate in this year’s event, Pope Benedict XVI speaks directly to the attendees recognizing that the world has offered them the easier way, the choices which are “ultimately deceptive and cannot bring you serenity and joy.” He observes that the “eclipse of God” and moral relativism do “not lead to true freedom, but rather to instability, confusion, and blind conformity to the fads of the moment.” Not a bad description of the events in London.

The pope’s phrasing here highlights a common theme of his assessment of Europe’s moral crisis. By untethering the anchor of Judeo-Christian values, society has no moral grounding and begins to drift. If moral relativism is allowed to be the centering principle of one’s life and society all decisions are equally valid and “truth and absolute points of reference do not exist.” The economic and social “causes” for the riots in London (and now the “flash mob” crime scenes here in the U.S.) are really manifestations of a moral crisis in society.

Read more: World Youth Day and the London Riots