Ending a three-day tour in the Czech Republic aimed at opposing secularism, Pope Benedict XVI told about 40,000 of the faithful on Monday that the collapse of Communism had exposed the price paid by those who strive for power and deny God.

Benedict, 8, during an open-air Mass in Stora Boleslave, a town approximately 15 miles northeat of Prague , where the Czech patron St. Wenceslas was salin in the 10^th century, was quoted as saying that, “this last century – as this land of yours can bear witness – saw the fall of a number of powerful figures who had apparently risen to almost unattainable heights. Suddenly, they found themselves stripped of their power.”

Benedict was taking note of the fall of Communism in 1989.

According to the New York Times, “the pope came to this decidedly skeptical nation as part of a Continent-wide mission to urge the unbelieving out of their collective apathy.”

Yet while Benedict has been warmly welcomed by the nation’s Roman Catholics, the pope must contend with overwhelming indifference of a country uninspired by religion. Fewer than 3 million of the nation’s 10.5 million people identify themselves as Roman Catholics, according to the most recent census.

During his trip to the Czech Republic , where civil unions between gay men and lesbian have been legalized since 2006 and abortion has been permissible for decades, the pope avoided addressing delicate social issues.

Accordingly, many Czechs claim his mission there has been futile. Dominik Jun, 31, a film-maker, said, “Catholicism is not going to catch on here, where cynicism and ‘What’s the point?’ are national ideology.” More Czechs believe in informercials than they do in religion.

As reported by the NY Times, “the pope had been expected to broach the issue of church property under Communism and given to the state, which church officials value at about $15 billin. Prime Minister Jan Fischer said over the weekend that both sides had agreed to put aside the issue for now.”

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