Pope warns Catholics of pop culture's perils

SYDNEY (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday warned Catholics of the perils of pop culture and pillaging the earth’s resources after a rapturous welcome at the world’s biggest Christian festival in Australia.

Speaking against the spectacular backdrop of Sydney’s famous harbour, the pontiff told hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in Australia’s biggest and trendiest city that “something is amiss” in modern society.

“Our world has grown weary of greed, exploitation and division, of the tedium of false idols and piecemeal responses, and the pain of false promises,” the Pope said after a welcoming ceremony by Aborigines in tribal paint.