People gathered in Lisbon on Tuesday (May 11) to welcome Pope Benedict, and also responded to some of the pontiff's most comprehensive public comments on the sexual abuse scandal engulfing the Catholic Church.
Before arriving in Portugal to begin a four-day visit, the pope said the vast crisis of sexual abuse of children by priests should make Church leaders acknowledge the "terrifying" truth that its greatest threat comes not from outside enemies but from "sin within the Church".
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People gathered in Lisbon on Tuesday (May 11) to welcome Pope Benedict, and also responded to some of the pontiff's most comprehensive public comments on the sexual abuse scandal engulfing the Catholic Church.
Before arriving in Portugal to begin a four-day visit, the pope said the vast crisis of sexual abuse of children by priests should make Church leaders acknowledge the "terrifying" truth that its greatest threat comes not from outside enemies but from "sin within the Church".
The 83-year-old German pontiff, facing the worst crisis of his five-year-old papacy, said the Church had to seek forgiveness from victims of sexual abuse but also recognised that "forgiveness cannot be a substitute for justice".
A parish priest, among those awaiting his arrival in Lisbon, welcomed the remarks.
"We have to recognise, and the pope has asked for forgiveness in the name of all the (Catholic) Church. But the moment now is of celebration because we have the pope among us. I think it is right for the pope to recognise and take measures to stop this. I agree with him," Father Luis Arruda told Reuters.
Another member of the crowd believed the scandal had been exaggerated. "I do not believe that things are like they are saying. This is more of a rumour against Christians," said Carlos Santos.
But generally the reaction to the pope's remarks was positive. "If there is anything wrong, all of us and the Church too should recognise the mistakes," said Lisbon resident Jose Costa.
The main purpose of the pope's four-day visit to Portugal is to visit the shrine at Fatima where the Madonna is said to have appeared to three shepherd children six times in 1917.
Benedict said earlier on Tuesday the crisis of sexual abuse of children by priests should make the Church acknowledge the "terrifying" truth that its greatest threat comes from "sin within the Church".
In some of the most comprehensive public comments since the scandal broke two months ago, Benedict told reporters the Church has "a very deep need" to acknowledge that it must do penitence for its sins and "accept purification".
"Today we see in a truly terrifying way that the greatest persecution of the Church does not come from outside enemies but is born of sin within the Church," he told reporters on the plane taking him to Portugal, in response to a question about the sexual abuse scandal.
In recent weeks, a number of Vatican officials have accused the media of waging a smear campaign against the Church, with one top Vatican official going as far as dismissing reports of a cover up of sexual abuse as "petty gossip". Close