AUSTRALIA:POPE BENEDICT XVI has told victims of "evil" sexual abuse by Catholic clergy members in Australia that he is "deeply sorry" and shares their suffering.
The pope made his comments during a Mass at Sydney's St Mary's cathedral as World Youth Day came to a close over the weekend. The apology had not been included in the text given to journalists before the Mass for 3,400 invited guests, including cardinals, bishops and Australian seminarians.
"Here I would like to pause to acknowledge the shame which we have all felt as a result of the sexual abuse of minors by some clergy and religious in this country," the pope said.
"Indeed, I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims have endured and I assure them that as their pastor I too share in their suffering.
"These misdeeds, which constitute so grave a betrayal of trust, deserve unequivocal condemnation . . . and those responsible for these evils must be brought to justice," he said.
Chris MacIsaac, president of support group Broken Rites, said while the apology was important, it should have been addressed directly to victims.
"The fact that he's deeply sorry, that's appreciated; but it would have been much more meaningful if he had had some victims there to represent all victims," Ms MacIsaac said.
Around 350,000 people attended both the evening vigil Mass on Saturday night and yesterday's final Mass of World Youth Day at Randwick racecourse. Around 200,000 slept out overnight at the venue.
The pontiff said his trip to Australia had been unforgettable, and warned of a "spiritual desert" spreading in the modern world.
"Here in Australia, this great south land of the Holy Spirit, all of us have had an unforgettable experience of the Spirit's presence and power in the beauty of nature," he said. "The world needs this renewal . . . in so many of our societies, side by side with material prosperity, a spiritual desert is spreading, an interior emptiness, an unnamed fear, a quiet sense of despair."
Twenty-six cardinals and 420 bishops joined Pope Benedict for the two-hour final Mass, which also saw communion offered to the crowd by 4,000 priests, acolytes and extraordinary ministers.
The Archbishop of Cardiff, Most Reverend Peter Smith, who was attending his third World Youth Day, told The Irish Timeshe was very happy with the celebrations in Sydney. "I wondered what the citizens themselves would make of the whole thing, but I feel very welcome," he said.
"Sydney has been excellent, people are so friendly. Even walking down the street they say 'hello Father'. It has generally been very well organised. It's a great credit to the city and the church to make it such a success."
The pope ended the week's festivities by announcing that Madrid would host the next World Youth Day in 2011.