The Pope ended World Youth Day yesterday in Cologne with an appeal to young people around the world to unite “to build a better world” by helping the poor and elderly.
The Pope was speaking to a crowd of more than 800,000 young flag-waving Catholics at a special Mass to close the festival when he made the appeal. He added that greater commitment should be shown by young Catholics to the rituals of the Church.
He told the crowd: “Do not be deterred from taking part in Sunday Mass, and help others to discover it too.”
He added: “Religion constructed on a do-it-yourself basis cannot ultimately help us.
“It may be comfortable but at times of crisis we are left to ourselves.”
Pope Benedict was definitely not shy in his scolding of Church members who simply select the parts of the religion that suit them while, ignoring the rest, saying that Catholicism was not a “consumer product”.
The four-day trip was the first of the Pope’s foreign visits since his election to the head of the Vatican.
Despite the Pope’s reserved manner and strong traditionalism, the thousands of young Catholics seem to have completely embraced Benedict.
“There were some ugly headlines when he was appointed Pope like ‘God’s Rottweiler’, and ‘Panzer Pope’, because everyone thought he was strict and unfeeling,” said Eamon MacMahon, 19, from Dublin. “But I think he’s proved over the last few days that he’s a kind-hearted, intelligent man, who clearly enjoyed being with us.”
François Lagorse, 21, from Brive, France, defended the Pope’s conservatism, saying “he has to be conservative – he wouldn’t be the Pope if he wasn’t and while we felt a bit rudderless following the death of John Paul II, we can now be confident that Benedict XVI will lead us well.”
The Pope also threw down his reservedness on numerous occasions, walking right up to the crowds to shake hands and kiss babies.
