Don't exclude God, pope tells Czechs

During a weekend tour of the Czech Republic, Pope Benedict XVI told an estimated 120,000 of attending faithful that societies that exclude God do so at their own peril. He emphasized his point by declaring, "History has demonstrated the absurdities to which man descends when he excludes God from the horizon of his choices and actions".

His visit came as Czechs were making preparations to mark the twenty years since the 1989 Velvet Revolution that did away with a regime that mercilessly persecuted the Roman Catholic Church, and was an attempt to encourage the ex-communist country to get back in touch with its religious roots. However, this could be a difficult battle for the 82-year-old pontiff due to the Czech Republic being one of the most secular countries in Europe, with nearly half the citizens identifying themselves as non-believers. Despite this, many were enthusiastic at the opportunity to hear the pope speak. Daniel Rampacek, a 21-year-old student from the southeastern town of Breclav, said, "The pope's never been here. It's a unique experience to see him".

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By Anna Mandrell