I was once 'more severe' than today, Benedict XVI tells priests
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
Pope Benedict XVI told a group of priests yesterday that he was once ?more severe? in terms of administering baptism and confirmation to ill-prepared or lukewarm candidates, but today he?s inclined to be generous wherever there is even ?a flicker of desire for communion in the faith.?
The pope also conceded that, over the centuries, Christianity?s commitment to environmental protection may not always have been sufficiently clear. He argued, however, that belief in God is essential to sound ecology, because ultimately a materialist philosophy places no limits on humanity?s exploitation of nature.