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Pope to Kids: Spurn 'Spiritual Desert'

Young should change lives of 'quiet despair,' Benedict pleads

By Green Point,  Newser User

Posted Jul 20, 2008 9:11 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Pope Benedict XVI called on young Christians to revive spirituality by rejecting modern society's greed and materialism, AP reports. At a mass of 350,000 young pilgrims in Sydney, and a global TV audience of millions, the pope called for "a new age in which hope liberates us from the shallowness, apathy, and self-absorption which deadens our souls." The mass concluded a six-day World Youth festival, which drew crowds from 160 countries.

Pope Benedict XVI reaches out to kiss a child from his Pope-mobile on his arrival for the Final Mass at Randwick Racecourse during World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, Sunday, July 20, 2008.
Pope Benedict XVI reaches out to kiss a child from his Pope-mobile on his arrival for the Final Mass at Randwick Racecourse during World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, Sunday, July 20, 2008.   (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Pope Benedict XVI gives communion during the Final Mass at Randwick Racecourse for World Youth Day in Sydney, Sunday, July 20, 2008.
Pope Benedict XVI gives communion during the Final Mass at Randwick Racecourse for World Youth Day in Sydney, Sunday, July 20, 2008.   (AP Photo/Rick Rycroftl)
Pope Benedict XVI gestures to the pilgrims during the Final Mass at World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, Sunday, July 20, 2008.
Pope Benedict XVI gestures to the pilgrims during the Final Mass at World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, Sunday, July 20, 2008.   (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)
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A pilgrim's account of the event
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Pope Benedict XVI • Christianity • religion • Mass • pilgrims • Sydney • Roman Catholicism • World Youth Day

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