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	Pope Leads World Youth Day Mass after Apology for 'Evil' of Clergy Sex Abuse in Australia PR-Inside (Austria) July 18, 2008 http://www.pr-inside.com/pope-leads-world-youth-day-mass-r713145.htm SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday leads a huge open-air Mass marking the culmination of the World Youth Day festival he has been attending in Australia. The Mass, at a horse racetrack in Sydney, follows a forceful apology Saturday for the sexual abuse of children by Australia's Roman Catholic clergy, keeping up efforts begun in the United States to publicly atone for what he called evil acts by priests. But the pope's apology was not enough to satisfy representatives of the victims of clergy sexual abuse, who said it must be backed by Vatican orders to Australian bishops to stop what they say are efforts to cover up the extent of the problem and to block survivors' attempts to win compensation. The pope flew in a helicopter _ dubbed the «holy-copter» _ over the crowd of pilgrims, estimated at more than 200,000 at the track and overflowing into a nearby park. He then drove slowly through the crowd in the popemobile. Many of the pilgrims spent the night camped out at the track in sleeping bags under the stars, shivering though a cool Australian midwinter night. Benedict led a vigil there Saturday evening, as thousands of pilgrims waved candles in a glittering display. In his apology on Saturday, Benedict said: «I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims have endured and I assure them as their pastor that I too share in their suffering,» Benedict said in Sydney's St. Mary's Cathedral. He said he wanted «to acknowledge the shame which we have all felt» and called for those responsible to be «brought to justice.» The acts were «evil» and a «grave betrayal of trust,» he said. Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi said the pope added the words that he was deeply sorry to the original text because he wanted to «personally underline» that he felt close to the victims. The pope has expressed regret before about the clergy abuse scandal that has rocked the church in recent years _ notably during a U.S. visit in April when he also met privately with a small number of victims. Anthony Foster, the father of two Australian girls who were allegedly raped by a Catholic priest as children, has been publicly seeking a meeting with Benedict during his visit. He said he was disappointed the pope's remarks repeated the church's expressions of regret but offered no practical assistance for victims. «What we haven't had is an unequivocal, unlimited practical response that provides for all the victims for their lifetime,» he said. The pontiff is in Australia to lead hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in the church's World Youth Day, a global celebration meant to inspire a new generation of Catholics. «I think it's a good gesture, but the person who is responsible for these actions should be made responsible for their own actions,» said Daniel Bidinger, 25, a pilgrim from Germany. «The church should be open about it and shouldn't cover up these incidents.
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