For many people today, practical atheism is the normal rule of life...If this attitude becomes a general existential position, then freedom no longer has any standards, then everyting is possible and permissible.
Those who with God's help have welcomed Christ's call and freely responded to it are urged on by love of Christ to proclaim the Good News everywhere in the world.
A civilization inspired by a consumerist, anti-birth mentality is not and cannot ever be a civilization of love.
To live without faith, without a patrimony to defend, without a steady struggle for truth – that is not living, but existing.
No one is forced to be a Christian. But no one should be forced to live according to the "new religion" as though it alone were definitive and obligatory for all mankind.
Unlike VoxCantoris, I would argue Bergoglio is far from deluded when he says:
The Church is not falling to pieces. It has never been better. This is a wonderful moment for the Church, you just need to look at its history.
For the record, it is not the first time that Bergoglio has said that.
Distinctions Matter
Distinctions Matter Forward
Missale Romanum
Pre-1951 Calendar