Pope makes debut

last updated 8 January 2015

Cologne, Germany

Benedict XVI this week ended his first foreign trip as pope by warning against the rising tide of secularism and “do-it-yourself” Catholicism. The pope told a million pilgrims in his native Germany that rejecting traditional teachings on sex and other moral issues weakens the church. “Pushed too far, religion becomes almost a consumer product,” he said. “People choose what they like.” Nuno Gonzago, 20, of Portugal said he was glad to hear the pope defend orthodox Catholicism. But Malte Schuburt, 19, of Germany wasn’t so sure. “This means no sex, basically, doesn’t it?” Schuburt said. “He has to say that. He is the pope.”