|TOP|The Head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI gave the first baptisms since he was installed into his position at the weekend.

On Sunday the Pope launched an impassionate condemnation of irresponsible sex and what he described as a “culture of death” that had pervaded the modern world.

Urging people to rediscover their faith, the Pope laid aside his prepared sermon and compared the wild excessive culture seen today in the 21st Century to the ancient Roman Empire.

“In our times we need to say 'no' to the largely dominant culture of death,” said the Pope.

|AD|The sermon was given in the grandeur of the Sistine Chapel, and Pope Benedict said, “(There is) an anti-culture demonstrated by the flight to drugs, by the flight from reality, by illusions, by false happiness ... displayed in sexuality which has become pure pleasure devoid of responsibility.”

Pope Benedict’s predecessor, Pope John Paul II had often used the term ‘culture of death’ to describe abortion, and the present Pope choose to carry on with the term saying: “The anti-culture of death was a love of lies and of deceit. It was an abuse of the body as a commodity and as a product. Even in our times there is this culture and we must say 'No' to it.”

The homily indicated how strongly Pope Benedict felt on the matter as it was the first time that he had ignored the prepared text, which was sent to the media beforehand, and instead opted to speak directly from his heart at length.

As the Pope continued his homily he spoke of the significance of baptism, which he suggested was an event that was significant to welcoming person into the community of Christians.

“This is a 'yes' to Christ, a 'yes' to the victors of death, a 'yes' to life,” Pope Benedict said before pouring water on the heads of 5 girls and 5 boys.