The next World Youth Day, the Roman Catholic Church?s international jamboree for young believers, will be held in 2008 in Sydney, Australia. Pope Benedict made the announcement yesterday in Cologne during an open-air Mass. The Catholic Church?s World Youth Day, launched by Pope John Paul two decades ago, has become an important event for the Church to rally young Catholics at a time when church attendance is dwindling.

Wrapping up a triumphant return to his German homeland, he urged young people to shun a ?do-it-yourself? concept of religion where they can choose what they want and disregard the rest. A crowd of up to a million young people from 193 countries attended this major event. Most had spent the chilly night in tents and sleeping bags, singing and praying in a festive atmosphere before the Pope said the Mass along with some 800 bishops. Mostly in their teens and early 20s, the crowd rose to their feet when Benedict arrived in a popemobile. They swayed and sang: ?Jesus Christ, you are my life.?

In his homily, read in five languages, Benedict used general principles to press his point, in contrast to John Paul who often spoke to youth specifically about sexual morality. He asked them not to see religion as a ?consumer product? where people choose only what they want from it and disregard rules that are sometimes difficult to observe. ?Religion constructed on a do-it-yourself basis cannot ultimately help us?, he said. ?It may be comfortable but at times of crisis we are left to ourselves.?

The impression left to the listener was that the new Pope was trying to preach without finger-wagging. ?Freedom is not simply about enjoying life in total autonomy, but rather living by the measure of truth and goodness, so that we ourselves can become true and good,? he said.

Asked what he felt about the Pope?s words warning against pick-and ? choose Catholicism, Malte Schubert, a 19-year-old German, said: ?That means no sex, basically, doesn?t it? He has to say that. He is the Pope, but I think people should make their own choices.? There were also many in the crowd who agreed with the Pope.

Mixed reviews

?I am part of a movement for devotion to the Virgin Mary. We strictly follow the teachings of the Church. The Pope is right to warn against do-it-yourself religion, it should be all or nothing,? said Nuno Gonzago, 20, from Portugal.

The Pope urged his listeners not to see Sunday Mass as an inconvenience and to build their dream for a better world by helping those less fortunate, particularly the sick and elderly.

The Pope, whose reserved style could have dampened the boisterous atmosphere of the festival that his charismatic predecessor dominated, has played his new public role without a slip and seemed to enjoy it at times. The visit has allowed the Pope to show the softer side that his supporters say he has. Before his election in April, Joseph Ratzinger headed the Church department that oversees doctrine and was often depicted by the media as being cold and harsh.

The trip also gave the Pope an opportunity to push ahead on his efforts to continue dialogue with other religions. On Friday he made an historic visit to Cologne?s synagogue, which had been destroyed by the Nazis in 1938, and warned of the threat of new anti-Semitism. He told Muslim leaders on Saturday they had a duty to help defeat terrorism and turn back the ?wave of cruel fanaticism? that falsely uses religion to instigate hate. The Pope returned to Rome later after meeting German bishops.

No pasta on menu

Part of the joy of coming home is eating favourite foods, and it is no different for German-born Pope Benedict despite living 24 years in Rome amid some of the best Italian cuisine in the world. ?We must have half of all the different types of German liverwurst and sausage in the refrigerator,? his host, Cologne Cardinal Joachim Meisner, told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

?The Pope is very happy in Cologne, that?s obvious. There?s German food the whole time ? just look at all the different types of bread,? Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls added. ?There hasn?t been a single meal with pasta.?

The Pope, whose home state of Bavaria is known for its hearty food and frothy beer, did not want beer or wine stocked in the refrigerator at Meisner?s residence where he is staying. ?He prefers Fanta,? Bild wrote. But all his years in Rome, where he worked as the Vatican?s leading doctrinal expert before being elected Pope last April, have left some traces, it added. ?We rented an Italian espresso machine especially for him?, it quoted Meisner as saying.