CANADA: Pope John Paul, ending World Youth Day celebrations, yesterday urged a rain-drenched but ecstatic crowd of 800,000 to stand by their church and not be discouraged by the priestly sex scandal that has rocked their faith.
In his homily, the Pope addressed the scandal of sex abuse by priests that has rocked various Catholic Churches around the world, including the United States.
"Do not be discouraged by the sins and failings of some of her [the church's] members," he said, in what was believed to be his first public comment on the subject since the scandal began in the United States in January.
"The harm done by some priests and religious to the young and vulnerable fills us all with a deep sense of sadness and shame. But think of the vast majority of dedicated and generous priests and religious whose only wish is to serve and do good," he said.
The Pope spoke as Canadian newspapers reported two priests from New Jersey were arrested earlier this month on charges of crossing the border into Canada to solicit sex from male prostitutes, some of them minors, in Montreal.
The Pope, speaking from a huge altar platform topped by a giant cross, said the scandal should not deter his hearers from becoming priests if they had the calling.
The 82-year-old Pope was driven around the sea of rain ponchos and umbrellas so most of the people in the huge crowd could see him. In his homily, he also jokingly referred to his age, saying: "You are young and the Pope is old and a bit tired. Being 80 or 82 is not the same as 22 or 23, but he still fully identifies with your hopes and aspirations."
The Pope, who lived through the horrors of World War Two, Nazi occupation of his native Poland and later through the Communist period, he told the young people not to be discouraged by life's ups and downs.
"Although I have lived through much darkness, under harsh totalitarian regimes, I have seen enough evidence to be unshakably convinced that no difficulty, no fear is so great that it can completely suffocate the hope that springs eternal in the hearts of the young."
The remarkable thing so far about the trip - which will also take the Pope to Guatemala and Mexico - has been the Pope's health, which has seen an apparent rebound. Meanwhile in Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo has heeded the Pope's call and agreed to halt state executions during his administration and will ask the National Assembly to abolish the death penalty altogether, newspapers reported yesterday. - (Reuters)