Pope Benedict said today that Europe risked "de-Christianisation" from the spread of divorce, abortion and same-sex marriages, and urged bishops to defend traditional Catholic practices.
Addressing Swiss bishops at the Vatican, the Pope said Western Europe was increasingly secular, as seen in declining celebration of Sunday Mass and "the questioning of moral values upheld by the Church".
"I am particularly thinking of the deep crisis in the institution of marriage and the family, the growing number of divorces, frequent abortions, the possibility of union between people of the same sex, all of which constitutes an open sign of de-Christianisation," he said.
"Many of our contemporaries live as if God did not exist," said the head of the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics. The Pope called on the visiting Swiss clergymen to uphold strict celebration of Sunday Mass and warned them not to let their parishes water down the full liturgy.
"Even among practising Catholics one notices a weakening of faith," the Pope said. The German-born Pope, chief enforcer of Vatican dogma before being elected pontiff, has long been a defender of what he considers the Christian traditions of Western Europe.
During his 18 months as Pope, he has often condemned gay marriage and last June a Vatican document called it one sign of "the eclipse of God" in modern times.