World Youth Day Concludes With a Call For Church Unity
More than 800,000 young Catholics gathered at Marienfeld on the outskirts of Cologne for the conclusion of World Youth Day.
Posted: Monday, August 22 , 2005, 17:40 (UK)

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 rest