Gr- Pope in Germany 'to speak about God,' not politics

Pope in Germany 'to speak about God,' not politics

On his first state visit to his homeland, Pope Benedict XVI met Thursday with Germany's prime minister and president and spoke to legislators, but insisted that his purpose was not economic or political, but spiritual.

"Even though this journey is an official visit which will reinforce the good relations existing between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Holy See, I have not come here primarily to pursue particular political or economic goals," he said during remarks at Bellevue Castle, the president's official residence, "but rather to meet people and to speak about God."

"The Federal Republic of Germany has become what it is today thanks to the power of freedom shaped by responsibility before God and before one another."

The pope arrived Thursday morning at Berlin's Tegel airport for a visit marked by heavy police presence and, in some places, protests. Many see the papal itinerary as an encroachment on church-state separation; others in the increasingly secular nation are critical of the church's more conservative teachings.