GERMANY
CBS News
(CBS/AP) Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Germany on Thursday for his first foreign trip as pope, a journey that will emphasize outreach to Jews and Muslim and evangelizing a Europe that has drifted from its Christian heritage.
About 325,000 flag-waving and hymn-singing pilgrims had arrived by Wednesday for the Roman Catholic Church's 20th World Youth Day, awaiting the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI, organizers said, with up to a million people from 184 countries expected by the time Benedict celebrates a closing Mass on Sunday. ...
As the pope left Rome to begin his four-day German visit, the Vatican was reacting to two major news events: the murder of the 90-year-old founder of the Taize Ecumenical Community of monks in France, by a woman suspected to be mentally ill, and a lawsuit filed against the pope.
The slain monk, Brother Roger Schutz, was internationally famous for his philosophy and deeds, including the harboring of Jewish refugees during the Nazi occupation of France. The pope, who knew him, called the killing "very sad and terrifying news." Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of the Church of England, called it "an indescribable shock."
The lawsuit, filed by an American lawyer on behalf sex abuse victims, accuses the pontiff of covering up sexual abuse of children when he was the high-powered Vatican official known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.
The pope's lawyers have asked President Bush to certify Benedict's immunity from liability in the civil lawsuit since he is a head of state - the Vatican city-state.