Pope’s battle to save Christmas: Don’t let atheists crush your traditions, Benedict tells Britain

By Steve Doughty Mail Online 17th September 2010
Easter and Christmas should not be discouraged by fear of offending others Christians in public roles should be allowed to act according to conscience Lack of ethical foundation resulted in financial crisis, he tells politicians
The Pope issued a clarion call to defend Christianity last night, saying Christmas was at risk of being struck from the calendar.
In a strongly worded speech delivered in Parliament, Benedict XVI bluntly told politicians not to ‘silence’ religion and discourage public celebration of its most important festivals.
And in a thinly veiled attack on controversial equality legislation, he said laws which forced Christians to act against their consciences were wrong.
‘There are those who would advocate that the voice of religion be silenced, or at least relegated to the purely private sphere,’ he told senior politicians and public figures.
‘Don’t sideline Christianity’: The Pope urges politicians to work to ensure religion has a place in national life during a speech at Westminster Hall
‘There are those who argue that the public celebration of festivals such as Christmas should be discouraged, in the questionable belief that it might somehow offend those of other religions or none.’
















