Western Societies Deaf to God, Says Pope

MUNICH, Germany, SEPT. 10, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Western societies suffer from a "hardness of hearing" of all things that have to do with God, thus impeding a correct perception of reality, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope said this today when celebrating Mass on Munich's fairgrounds, attended by some 250,000 people, the first Mass of his fourth international trip.

Addressing his fellow countrymen of Bavaria, the Holy Father said: "There is not only a physical deafness ... there is also a 'hardness of hearing' where God is concerned, and this is something from which we particularly suffer in our own time.

"Put simply, we are no longer able to hear God -- there are too many different frequencies filling our ears."

The Holy Father's homily is here.