Pope Benedict began addressing the issue from the perspective of fidelity to the teachings of Christ. “The Church wishes to remain utterly faithful to the mandate entrusted to her by her Founder, her Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. She does not cease to repeat with him: "What God has joined together, let not man put asunder!" (Mt 19:6). The Church did not give herself this mission: she received it,” he noted.
The difficulties presented by this teaching did not go unmentioned by the Pope, who stressed that, “Families in difficulty must be supported, they must be helped to understand the greatness of marriage, and encouraged not to relativize God’s will and the laws of life which he has given us.”
“Those who are divorced and remarried,” Benedict XVI said, are in a “particularly painful situation.” Nevertheless, “the Church, which cannot oppose the will of Christ, firmly maintains the principle of the indissolubility of marriage, while surrounding with the greatest affection those men and women who, for a variety of reasons, fail to respect it.”
This means that any “initiatives aimed at blessing irregular unions cannot be admitted,” the Pontiff underscored.
France’s Christian Roots
One final area examined by the Holy Father was the issue of the relationship between the Church and State.
He asserted that the Christian roots of France will enable “each inhabitant of the country to come to a better understanding of his or her origin and destiny,” and that it is necessary to find a new path founded on France’s true identity.
The Pope also noted that, “Your president has intimated that this is possible."
Benedict XVI closed his address by highlighting the importance of working "towards a genuine spiritual liberation. “Man," he said, “is always in need of liberation from his fears and his sins. Man must ceaselessly learn or relearn that God is not his enemy, but his infinitely good Creator. Man needs to know that his life has a meaning, and that he is awaited, at the conclusion of his earthly sojourn, so as to share for ever in Christ's glory in heaven. Your mission is to bring the portion of the People of God entrusted to your care to recognize this glorious destiny."