Pope meets privately with priests, discusses wide range of topics

Published: 2007-07-24

AURONZO, Italy (CNS) -- Faith and reason, mercy and the defense of the truth, dialogue and evangelization were just some of the topics Pope Benedict XVI touched on when he responded to questions posed by the priests of two northern Italian dioceses. After meeting privately with about 400 priests July 24, Pope Benedict told the crowd waiting outside, "We spoke about God, about the church, about humanity today and, mostly, about the fact that we are the church and in this journey we must all collaborate." Nearing the end of his vacation in the Diocese of Belluno and Feltre, at a villa owned by the Diocese of Treviso, Pope Benedict thanked his hosts by spending two hours praying with and answering questions posed by the dioceses' priests. Reporters were allowed into the Church of St. Justina in Auronzo for the gathering's opening prayer, but had to be content with a briefing and short clips of the pope responding to 10 questions posed by the priests. The Vatican said its newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, would publish a transcript of the pope's remarks at a later date.

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