Lack of Hope considered “dark evil” by Pope

What is the “dark” evil of modern society according to Pope Benedict XVI?
According to the pontiff, it is the “deficit of hope and trust in life which constitutes the ‘dark’ evil of modern Western society.” During the first Vespers of the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God in Rome, the Pope asked the Lord “in His mercy” to help individuals and families whose lives “are weighed down by serious shortages and poverty which prevent them from looking trustingly to the future.” He dwelt on “the many challenges…associated with consumerism and materialism,” adding how, “even in Rome we notice that deficit of hope and trust in life which constitutes the ‘dark’ evil of modern Western society.”
The Pope added however “there is no shortage of lights and of reasons for hope” for which we must “implore special divine blessing.” (ewtn.com)