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Pope urges Australian youths to spurn materialism
Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday a "spiritual desert" was spreading throughout the world and he challenged young people to shed the greed and cynicism of their time to create a new age of hope for humankind.
Speaking at a Mass before some 350,000 Roman Catholic pilgrims and a likely television audience of millions more, Benedict wrapped up the church's six-day World Youth Day festival. He urged the young people in his more than 1 billion-strong flock to be agents of change because "the world needs renewal."
"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," the pontiff said.
The appeal came as Benedict finished a visit to Australia that touched on the themes that have defined his three-year-old papacy, including the struggle to rejuvenate a crisis-battered Church, reaching out to other faiths and raising global warming as an important issue.
The 81-year-old pope said it was up to a new generation of Christians to build a world in "which God's gift of life is welcomed, respected and cherished — not rejected, feared as a threat and destroyed."
They must embrace the power of God "to let it break through the curse of our indifference, our spiritual weariness, our blind conformity to the spirit of this age," he said.
The aim was "a new age in which hope liberates us from the shallowness, apathy and self-absorption which deadens our souls and poisons our relationships," he said.
The Mass came a day after the pope made a forceful apology for the sexual abuse of children by Australia's Roman Catholic clergy, keeping up efforts begun in the United States to publicly atone for what he called evil acts by priests.
The Mass was delivered at a horse racetrack filled with pilgrims who had camped out overnight.
Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi said 350,000 attended Sunday's Mass. Australian organizers surmised a global television audience of up to 500 million during big World Youth Day events.
The pope flew over the scene early Sunday in a helicopter — dubbed "the holy-copter" by bleary-eyed pilgrims below — to see the assemblage swarmed all over the track in a jumble of sleeping bags, backpacks and other personal items. Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday a "spiritual desert" was spreading throughout the world and he challenged young people to shed the greed... more -
Pope: 'Spiritual desert' growing across world
Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday a "spiritual desert" was spreading throughout the world and he challenged young people to shed the greed and cynicism of their time to create a new age of hope for humankind.
Speaking at a Mass before some 350,000 Roman Catholic pilgrims and a likely television audience of millions more, Benedict wrapped up the church's six-day World Youth Day festival. He urged the young people in his more than 1 billion-strong flock to be agents of change because "the world needs renewal."
"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," the pontiff said.
The appeal came as Benedict finished a visit to Australia that touched on the themes that have defined his three-year-old papacy, including the struggle to rejuvenate a crisis-battered Church, reaching out to other faiths and raising global warming as an important issue among his 1.1 billion-strong flock.
The 81-year-old pope said it was up to a new generation of Christians to build a world in "which God's gift of life is welcomed, respected and cherished -- not rejected, feared as a threat and destroyed."
They must embrace the power of God "to let it break through the curse of our indifference, our spiritual weariness, our blind conformity to the spirit of this age," he said.
The aim was "a new age in which hope liberates us from the shallowness, apathy and self-absorption which deadens our souls and poisons our relationships," he said.
The Mass came a day after the pope made a forceful apology for the sexual abuse of children by Australia's Roman Catholic clergy, keeping up efforts begun in the United States to publicly atone for what he called evil acts by priests.
The Mass was delivered at a horse racetrack filled with pilgrims who had camped out overnight.
Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi said 350,000 attended Sunday's Mass. Australian organizers surmised a global television audience of up to 500 million during big World Youth Day events. Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday a "spiritual desert" was spreading throughout the world and he challenged young people to shed the greed... more -
Pope sorry for priests' sex abuse
Pope Benedict XVI has told Australians he is deeply sorry for the sexual abuse of children by some Catholic priests.
Speaking at a gathering of bishops in Sydney, the Pope spoke of the "shame we have all felt" and called for abusers to face justice.
A campaign group criticised the speech, saying the Pope should have met some victims to apologise in person.
The Pope was speaking as thousands of Catholic pilgrims began gathering for a candlelit prayer vigil in Sydney.
The pontiff will lead the vigil at the city's Royal Randwick Racecourse.
The Pope is in Australia to mark World Youth Day, which is drawing Catholics from around the world to the country.
Mixed response
Speaking earlier at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, he said: "I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims have endured. Pope Benedict XVI has told Australians he is deeply sorry for the sexual abuse of children by some Catholic priests. ... more -
The Pope goes digital
"Pope Benedict will text message thousands of young Catholics on their mobile phones during World Youth Day in Sydney in July, hoping going digital will help him connect better with a younger audience.
The Pope will text daily messages of inspiration and hope during the six-day Sydney event while digital prayer walls will be erected at event sites and the church will set up a Catholic social networking Web site akin to a Catholic Facebook.
The Catholic Church said it decided to use technology to connect to the estimated 225,000 young Catholics expected to attend the World Youth Day (WYD) celebrations that start on July 15.
"We wanted to make WYD08 a unique experience by using new ways to connect with today's tech-savvy youth," Bishop Anthony Fisher said in a statement on Wednesday.
Australian telecoms firm Telstra will provide voice, data, mobile, broadband and broadcast services for the event, as well as erect digital prayer walls at event sites. Telstra said it plans to connect 8,000 volunteers, 2,000 clergy, 3,000 media and an anticipated 225,000 pilgrims to more than 700 locations around Sydney." "Pope Benedict will text message thousands of young Catholics on their mobile phones during World Youth Day in Sydney in July, hoping ... more -
Pope: Hell really exists, abstain from Media!
During this year's Lent sermon, Pope Benedict XVI has reaffirmed that "Hell really exists" and that salvation will be denied to the unrighteous.
He also encouraged to observe complete abstinence from the Media for "we need to make room for silence in order to open our hearts".
(link in Italian)
During this year's Lent sermon, Pope Benedict XVI has reaffirmed that "Hell really exists" and that salvation will be denied to the un... more
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