“This is the faith that has made America the ‛continent of hope.’ Not a political ideology, not a social movement, not an economic system: faith in the God who is love — who took flesh, died and rose in Jesus Christ,” the Pope said on the final day of his May 9-13 visit to Brazil.

It was a comment echoed in many of his encounters, which included a rally with young people, the canonization of the first Brazilian-born saint and the inauguration of the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Pope cited inroads by secularism, threats against the family and the institution of marriage and an erosion of traditional Latin America values and said that in response the church needs to put greater emphasis on the religious education of its own members.

One big reason the evangelical sects have attracted Catholics, he told Brazilian bishops, is that many Catholics are insufficiently evangelized and their faith is weak, confused and easily shaken.

In a country where televangelists have had great success with simplistic religious messages, the Pope did not hold out any easy solutions. Instead, he said, the church should conduct “a methodical evangelization aimed at personal and communal fidelity to Christ.” Firm doctrinal content is essential to faith formation, he said, and at nearly every stop he suggested wider use of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The crowds that showed up for papal events were enthusiastic but smaller than foreseen by trip planners in Brazil, the largest Catholic country in the world. There were empty spaces at both of his outdoor Masses, and the crowds along some of his motorcade routes were sparse.

The papal trip began May 9 with an inflight press conference that prompted controversy when the Pope, in response to a question, appeared to support the idea of excommunication for pro-abortion politicians. The Vatican later released a toned-down version of the papal comments. In Brazil, where pressures have been growing for legalized abortion, the Pope mentioned protection of the unborn at several of his events, including a Sao Paulo airport welcoming ceremony attended by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The Pope told the president and assembled dignitaries that he had come to help reinforce Christian values and counter new threats to the poor, the abandoned and the unborn.

“I am well aware that the soul of this people, as of all Latin America, safeguards values that are radically Christian, which will never be eradicated,” he said.

On May 10, the Pope joined some 40,000 young people in a Sao Paulo soccer stadium for song, dance, prayer and a lengthy papal speech that laid out arguments for Christian virtue. He warned against sexual infidelity, drug use and unethical routes to success and told the youths to live their lives “with enthusiasm and with joy, but most of all with a sense of responsibility.”

At a Mass May 11 on a Sao Paulo airfield, the Pope canonized St. Antonio Galvao, an 18th-century Franciscan known for his charitable work among the poor and sick. The Pope said the saint’s dedication to God and purity should be exemplary in a modern age “so full of hedonism.”

“The world needs transparent lives, clear souls, pure minds that refuse to be perceived as mere objects of pleasure. It is necessary to oppose those elements of the media that ridicule the sanctity of marriage and virginity before marriage,” he said.

On May 12 the Pope rode deep into the Brazilian countryside to visit Fazenda da Esperanca, or Farm of Hope, a church-run drug rehabilitation centre. After listening to emotional testimonials from recovering addicts, the Pope warned drug dealers that they will face God’s judgment for the human damage they have inflicted.

Compared to the first days of the trip, the Pope looked more at ease on the grounds of the farm, where he was cheered by 3,000 volunteers and residents and was given a group hug by four children. That evening, he was even more animated when he met with thousands of priests, seminarians, religious and lay movement members in the Basilica of Our Lady Aparecida, Latin America’s biggest Marian shrine.

After praying the rosary, the Pope gave a spiritual pep talk that was repeatedly interrupted by applause, telling the congregation: “The church is our home. This is our home. In the Catholic Church we find all that is good.”

At Mass outside the basilica the next day, the Pope appeared to draw a distinction between the Catholic Church’s missionary approach and the aggressive proselytizing by evangelical sects, which have flourished in Latin America.

“The church does not engage in proselytism. Instead, she grows by attraction,” the Pope said.

By living charity day in and day out, he said, Christians release “an irresistible power which is the power of holiness.” This is the centre of the missionary task, he said.

Before leaving Brazil, the Pope delivered a lengthy opening address to the bishops’ general conference, a speech that was greatly anticipated by the more than 260 participants.