Bring expect to modern man, Pope tells Venetians

On Sunday Pope Benedict XVI renowned Mass near Venice for a congregation of 300,000, telling them to give hope to modern man by “listening to and loving the Word of God.”

“Dear brothers and sisters! I have come among you as the Bishop of Rome and successor of Peter's ministry to corroborate fidelity to the Gospel and communion,” he told those gathered in San Giuliano Park in Mestre, an industrial town on the other side of the lagoon from the famous island city of Venice.

“As in the past, when those churches were known for apostolic zeal and pastoral dynamism, so today we need to endorse and protect the truth with courage and unity of the faith. You must give an account of Christian hope for modern man, often overwhelmed by vast and worrying issues that arise in crisis and shake the very foundations of his organism and his activity.”

In a grand imitation of the byzantine splendor of the city’s St. Mark’s basilica, the organizers of today’s Mass had erected a domed sanctuary draped with golden mosaics on paper on cloth.

There, the Pope gave a explanation on today’s gospel, which recounts the disappointment of two disciples after the crucifixion of Jesus. They shared their gloom while on foot towards the town of Emmaus near Jerusalem.