Pope Benedict calls for German Catholics to unite

POPE Benedict yesterday urged Catholics in Germany to close ranks behind him rather than demand reforms or leave the Church.

Delivering his last major address of a four-day trip at a Mass for about 100,000 people, he said the sometimes fractious Church needed to unite around him and the German bishops.

“The Church in Germany will continue to be a blessing for the entire Catholic world if she remains faithfully united with the successor of St Peter,” he said, referring to himself.