“In communion with your bishops I invite you, the lay faithful, not to fail to use your skills and responsibilities to contribute to the construction of the common good.”

A big challenge from the Pope! At the Angelus on Sunday, October 9, Pope Benedict exhorted lay Catholics to work toward the good of society.

And our Holy Father, speaking in Calabria, in the south of Italy, led by example: After lunch with local bishops at the episcopal residence of Bishop Luigi Antonio Cantafora, bishop of the Diocese of Lamezia Terme, Pope Benedict visited the local Caritas canteen, where he offered lunch to the poor. The menu for the poor there at Caritas was the same as that which the pope and bishops had enjoyed.