ALTOETTING, Germany — Pope Benedict XVI traveled to the city of Altoetting to hold Mass today, as his homecoming to Bavaria drew well-wishers and Roman Catholics eager to hear his words.

Cars had to park outside the small town's limits. People filled the sidewalks and squares along the route where the pope would ride through in his "popemobile." Inside the square, a beer tent was set up and open for business, with sausages sizzling on the grill. No beer was to be sold until the afternoon, after Mass ended.

At a Mass Sunday, Benedict said that Western society often shuts their ears to the Christian message, and the pope insisted that science and technology alone could not combat AIDS.

The message was consistent with church teaching that sexual abstinence and faithfulness are the way to fight the disease.

The need for Western Europe to return to its Christian roots is one of Benedict's favorite themes, and he is repeating it during his visit to his native country — home to a shrinking Catholic Church. More than 100,000 people leave the German church every year, and only about 14 percent attend Mass.