Here at a glance are the main points of Pope Benedict's encyclical Spe Salvi (on Christian hope:
            -- Jesus Christ brought humanity the gift of a "trustworthy hope" in salvation and eternal life, a hope that is directly connected with faith.
            -- In the contemporary world, however, religious faith has been replaced with faith in progress and technology, provoking a "crisis of Christian hope."
            -- Ideologies like Marxism tried to do without religion and create a perfect society through political structures. Instead, this led to the "greatest forms of cruelty," proving that "a world which has to create its own justice is a world without hope."
            -- Some have placed their hope in the mistaken belief that man could be redeemed through science -- but science can destroy the world unless it is guided by religious values.
            -- Experience shows that anyone who does not know God "is ultimately without hope," the great hope that sustains life.
            -- Christianity cannot limit its attention to the individual and his salvation; Christianity's transforming role includes the wider society.
            -- Prayer is an effective "school of hope," as demonstrated by the saints through the centuries. Prayer should not isolate Christians, but make them more responsive to others.
            -- Suffering cannot be eliminated in this world but can be transformed by Christian hope. The measure of humanity, for individuals and society, lies in compassion for the suffering.
            -- The prospect of divine judgment also offers hope, because it promises God's grace and justice.
(CNS)