“The only danger the Church can and should fear is the sin of her members”
In every age the Church is supported by the light and strength of God, that is fed in the wilderness with the bread of His Word and the Holy Eucharist.
And so in all tribulations, through all the trials that she meets during the times and in different parts of the world, the Church suffers persecution, but always wins. And in this way the Christian Community is the presence, the guarantee of God’s love against all the ideologies of hatred and selfishness.
The only danger the Church can and should fear is the sin of her members.
While Mary is free from every stain of sin, the Church is holy, but at the same time is marked by our sins. For that reason the people of God, pilgrims in time, turn to their heavenly Mother and ask her help and encouragement in living a truly Christian life and to give us hope.
Mary help us to see that there is a light beyond the blanket of fog that seems to envelop reality.
(Pope Benedict XVI)
Remarks following an act of devotion to the Immaculate,
8 December 2011.
“The only danger the Church can and should fear is the sin of her members.” That is a good thought because in most peoples eyes the Church IS the people that populate it rather than (as I read here perhaps mistakenly) as Mary/Church. Reaching out to understand how the Church is seen rather than assuming or dismissing those views may help the Church gain perspective and an increased level of respect from non-Catholics or non-Mainline Catholics.
Full text:
http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=9804