"Apostasy is an interesting word. It comes from the Greek verb apostanai — which means to revolt or desert; literally ‘to stand away from.' Christians don’t need to publicly renounce Their faith in Christ to be apostates. They simply need to be silent when their faith demands that they speak out; to be cowards when Jesus asks them to have courage; to ‘stand away’ from the truth when they have need to work for it and fight for it.”
Pope Benedict