In a speech to partakers of a national convention organised by the Union of Italian Catholic Jurists on 9 December, Pope Benedict XVI said that God needs to be present in community life, and encouraged religious symbols to be present in public buildings such as schools, courthouses, hospitals and prisons.

The Pope said that originally the term "lay status" had only indicated a person of Christian faith who was not part of the religious state or a member of the clergy. But he said that the term has now come to mean the opposite.

According to the AP, Pope Benedict said that nowadays "a lay status entails the exclusion of religious symbols from public places.

"The basis of such a concept is an a-religious vision of life, of thought and of morality; that is a vision where there is no room for God, for a mystery that transcends pure reason, for a moral law that has an absolute value."

He continued: "It is the job then, of all believers ... to help elaborate a concept of laicism that on the one hand gives God and His moral laws, Christ and His church the place it deserves in life ... and on the other affirms and respects the legitimate autonomy of terrestrial realities."

He said that like the church, religion must be recognised as a public, community presence.

The Pope also defended the church's right to take a moral stand on political issues, saying, "It is not unwarranted meddling in legislative activities on the part of the church. It's an affirmation and defence of the great values that give a sense to a person's life and preserve that person's dignity."