Pope laments 'amnesia' about God during Spain trip

MADRID (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI complained today that modern society has a certain "amnesia" about God as he lamented the dwindling of the faith during a visit to Spain, a once staunchly Catholic country that has seen the church's grip on society fall dramatically since the end of the Fascist dictatorship of Francisco Franco.

Benedict was speaking in general terms about the secularization that has taken hold in much of the West in a speech to a few hundred adoring young nuns gathered in El Escorial monastery, a UNESCO world heritage site about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northwest of the capital.

The pontiff, in Spain to celebrate the church's World Youth Day, told them their decisions to dedicate their lives to their faith was a potent message for today's world.

"This is all the more important today when we see a certain eclipse of God taking place, a kind of amnesia which albeit not an outright rejection of Christianity is nonetheless a denial of the treasure of our faith, a denial that could lead to the loss of our deepest identity," he said.