Among the many suggestive points of the Pope's homily today at Washington Nationals Stadium, these had a particular resonance for me:

I wish to offer a special word of gratitude and encouragment to all those who have taken up the challenge of the Second Vatican Council, so often reiterated by Pope John Paul II, and committed their lives to the new evangelization. I thank my brother Bishops, priests and deacons, men and women religious, parents, teachers and catechists. The fidelity and courage with which the Church in this country will respond to the challenges raised by an increasingly secular and materialistic culture will depend in large part upon your own fidelity in handing on the treasure of our Catholic faith. Young people need to be helped to discern the path that leads to true freedom: the path of a sincere and generous imitation of Christ, the path of commitment to justice and peace. Much progress has been made in developing solid programs of catechesis, yet so much more remains to be done in forming the hearts and minds of the young in knowledge and love of the Lord. The challenges confronting us require a comprehensive and sound instruction in the truths of the faith. But they also call for cultivating a mindset, an intellectual culture, which is genuinely Catholic, confident in the profound harmony of faith and reason, and prepared to bring the richness of faiths vision to bear on the urgent issues which affect the future of American society.

I will be interested to see whether he develops them further in this afternoon's address to Catholic educators.

Robert P. Imbelli, a priest of the Archdiocese of New York, is a longtime Commonweal contributor.

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