VATICAN CITY, April 21 (Reuters) - Pope Benedict lamented the widespread abandonment of religion in Western countries in a Holy Thursday homily, saying the heartlands of Christianity were turning away from their faith.
The 84-year-old German-born pontiff said it sometimes seemed as if the West had become bored by its own history and culture.
"Is it perhaps the case that the West, the heartlands of Christianity, are tired of their faith?" he said during a ceremony in St. Peters Basilica.
Approaching the sixth Easter of his pontificate, the pope said the beatification of his Polish predecessor, John Paul II, on May 1 would be a chance to remember a man with great faith.
