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July 21, 2008
Pope Warns Youth Against Self-Absorption
By TIM JOHNSTON
SYDNEY, Australia — In his final address to hundreds of thousands of young Catholics gathered in Australia, Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday sharply criticized the violence and materialism of the modern age.
“A new generation of Christians is being called to help build a world in which God’s gift of life is welcomed, respected and cherished — not rejected, feared as a threat and destroyed,” the pope told a crowd, estimated by the organizers at 400,000, at a racecourse and nearby park.
Benedict urged young people to create “a new age in which hope liberates us from the shallowness, apathy and self-absorption which deaden our souls and poison our relationships.”
He spoke at a Mass culminating six days of events constituting World Youth Day, which the Roman Catholic Church said was the largest gathering ever of young people. More than 400 bishops and 26 cardinals also attended the Mass.
The pope, who is 81, used his visit to call for the return of religion to the center of the moral universe; for Catholicism to go back to its evangelical roots, with adherents publicly declaring their faith; and for a united front, among followers of all religions, in a world becoming ever more materialistic.
“In so many of our societies, side by side with material prosperity, a spiritual desert is spreading: an interior emptiness, an unnamed fear, a quiet sense of despair,” he warned.
On Saturday, he apologized for the sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests and brothers in Australia. “I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims have endured, and I assure them that, as their pastor, I too share in their suffering,” he said in a brief departure from his prepared address.
Shortly before leaving on Monday morning, the pope held a small private Mass with a representative group of victims, answering critics who had condemned him for not meeting with the victims directly.
The Vatican said that “through this paternal gesture, the Holy Father wished to demonstrate again his deep concern for all those who have suffered sexual abuse.”
Discomfort was expressed in some quarters about the amounts that local and national governments spent on World Youth Day, which may cost taxpayers as much as $155 million. The organizers said the value of the publicity more than offset the costs.
The pope announced that World Youth Day would next be held in Madrid in 2011.
Pope Warns Youth Against Self-Absorption
By TIM JOHNSTON
SYDNEY, Australia — In his final address to hundreds of thousands of young Catholics gathered in Australia, Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday sharply criticized the violence and materialism of the modern age.
“A new generation of Christians is being called to help build a world in which God’s gift of life is welcomed, respected and cherished — not rejected, feared as a threat and destroyed,” the pope told a crowd, estimated by the organizers at 400,000, at a racecourse and nearby park.
Benedict urged young people to create “a new age in which hope liberates us from the shallowness, apathy and self-absorption which deaden our souls and poison our relationships.”
He spoke at a Mass culminating six days of events constituting World Youth Day, which the Roman Catholic Church said was the largest gathering ever of young people. More than 400 bishops and 26 cardinals also attended the Mass.
The pope, who is 81, used his visit to call for the return of religion to the center of the moral universe; for Catholicism to go back to its evangelical roots, with adherents publicly declaring their faith; and for a united front, among followers of all religions, in a world becoming ever more materialistic.
“In so many of our societies, side by side with material prosperity, a spiritual desert is spreading: an interior emptiness, an unnamed fear, a quiet sense of despair,” he warned.
On Saturday, he apologized for the sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests and brothers in Australia. “I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims have endured, and I assure them that, as their pastor, I too share in their suffering,” he said in a brief departure from his prepared address.
Shortly before leaving on Monday morning, the pope held a small private Mass with a representative group of victims, answering critics who had condemned him for not meeting with the victims directly.
The Vatican said that “through this paternal gesture, the Holy Father wished to demonstrate again his deep concern for all those who have suffered sexual abuse.”
Discomfort was expressed in some quarters about the amounts that local and national governments spent on World Youth Day, which may cost taxpayers as much as $155 million. The organizers said the value of the publicity more than offset the costs.
The pope announced that World Youth Day would next be held in Madrid in 2011.
