Protests are expected to greet Pope Benedict XVI as he begins his first state visit to Germany Thursday. The harsh reception would contrast with celebration that took place when Josef Cardinal Ratzinger was elected six years ago as the first German pope in centuries.

The four-day state visit will have the pope address the public 17 times in stopovers at Berlin, Erfurt and Freiburg. The public events are expected to attract about 250,000 people.

Only 30 percent of Germany's 80 million population is Roman Catholic. The flock continues to dwindle because of the conservative stand of the Catholic Church on such issues as population, same-sex marriage, celibacy and women's role in church, and the involvement of priests in sexual abuse cases.

In 2010, almost 182,000 Germans left the Catholic Church in Germany, according to the German Bishops' Conference. It is twice the number that left in 2005. Catholics availing of the sacraments have also declined, with only 170,000 baptisms in 2005 compared with 300,000 in 1990.

Among the top issues Germans want Benedict to address is the church's handling of abuse cases including those that happened in Germany when he was archbishop of Munich from 1977 to 1982.

Besides the planned street protests, some German legislators said they will not attend the Thursday session when the pope addresses the Bundestag.

To ensure large crowds for papal appearances, the bishops' conference distributed 260,000 free tickets for five major events. The conference gave out more than 70,000 tickets for the pope's Mass at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, which is booked solid.

The German visit will also be a challenge to Pope Benedict's diplomatic skills since some of his hosts would likely not pass the Catholic Church's stringent standards on personal morality.

Welcoming him at the Bellevue Palace will be German President Christian Wulff, a Catholic who divorced and remarried. The pope's host in Berlin is Catholic but gay Mayor Klaus Wowereit.