The Archbishop of Westminster has warned that England is undergoing a "truly radical break" with humanity's traditions.
He was speaking a day after returning from a visit to the Middle East.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor used his midnight Mass homily at Westminster Cathedral to describe England as "a profoundly needy land".
The Catholic leader in England and Wales has also urged Christians to visit Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ.
He said: "We live in a culture that seeks to express itself as totally self-sufficient, where only what is experienced or what can be calculated is valid, where individual freedom is held as the fundamental value to which all others must be subject.
"Our culture represents a truly radical break, not only with Christianity, but with the moral and religious traditions of humanity."
Meanwhile, the Archbishop of Canterbury used his Christmas Day sermon to urge the world not to look away from problems in the Middle East.
