Pope Benedict XVI has warned that Europe’s Christians are in a state of “self-condemnation” in a historic interview in the run up to World Youth Day.

The interview with Eberhard von Gemmingen, confidant and head of Vatican Radio’s German service is the first of his pontificate but also the first full-length interview given by any sitting pontiff.

In the interview the Pope said the aim of this week’s World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany, was to create “a wave of new faith among young people, especially the youth in Germany and Europe.”

He also addressed some of the problems facing the Catholic Church, saying that in “modern western society” there were many “lead weights” turning people away from the Christian faith.

The Pope said that despite the existence of numerous large Christian organisations in Germany there was still “a great fatigue and we are so concerned with structural questions that the zest and the joy of faith are missing”.

Around 800,000 Catholic youths from 192 countries around the world are expected to attend the event, with the Pope due to join the celebrations on Thursday. This will be the first visit foreign visit of his pontificate.

When asked if he was happy the visit was to his native Germany he said: “I’m happy that providence wanted my first trip abroad to take me to Germany. I would not have dared to arrange that. But when the dear Lord makes it happen, one can be happy about it.”

He went on to express the hope that “the meeting of so many people from all continents will give a new impetus to the old continent. He added that European Christians were “almost caught up in a kind of self-pity and self-condemnation.” The Pope said Europe had lost touch with its roots and was instead sliding into “inevitable contradictions”.

“I believe that this civilisation, with all its dangers and hopes, can only be tamed and led back to greatness if it recognises again the source of its power,” he said.

Pope Benedict also appears keen to establish a firm connection with the young Christians attending the event. “I want to show them it’s beautiful to be a Christian,” he said. “Many people think Christianity is a bunch of rules, prohibitions and dogmas you have to follow and therefore it’s a heavy load.

“The wisdom of faith is not concerned with knowing lots of details...but knowing above and beyond the details of what life is about, how to live it and how to shape the future.”

He added that faith was not “stale food we’ve had for 2,000 years and warm up again and again.”

German Protestants have been arguing in the days before the Pope’s arrival that not enough has been done by the Vatican to include them in the event, nor to see through the Pope’s promise to work on building a closer relationship between Catholics and Protestants.

In the interview the Pope said, however, that no one should expect ground-making decisions to be made in the coming days on this issue.

“We won’t have much time because the daily schedule is very full,” he said, but added, “we’ll have some time to think about how things should go forward.”

During the four-day visit, the Pope will give a speech in Cologne Cathedral, hold a special mass, and take a cruise down the Rhine, giving thousands of Germans the change to see him. Other engagements include a meeting with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and other political leaders campaigning ahead of next month’s general election.