Pope Holds First Meeting with Sex Abuse Victims

WASHINGTON — Pope Benedict XVI met for the first time with people who had been sexually abused by Roman Catholic priests, the Vatican announced Thursday.

The private meeting in the chapel of the Vatican Embassy, which was not disclosed in advance, came hours after the pope acknowledged in a baseball stadium mass that pedophiles in the church had brought "pain and harm" to many parishes.

The small group of victims and Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston "prayed with the Holy Father, who afterwards listened to their personal accounts and offered them words of encouragement and hope,'' the Vatican statement said.

"His holiness assured them of his prayers for their intentions, for their families and for all victims of sexual abuse," it said.

O'Malley gave Benedict a notebook listing the names victims of sexual abuse from the Boston Archdiocese. There were more than 1,000 names.

Faith Johnston, who said she was abused while working at her church rectory when she was 14, said she burst into tears when she approached him and didn't say a word. She told CNN that the pope congratulated her on her upcoming wedding and told her that he would pray for her husband and her family.

It was a "very emotional" and "unscripted" meeting and the pontiff spoke forthrightly and first apologized, said Olan Horne, another abuse survivor who spoke with CNN. The meeting gave him a "great sense of hope," said. The pope "seemed to intrinsically understand what we were talking about. He spoke to issues in spiritual way a pastoral way and very respectful of where and what we wanted to talk about."

Bernie McDaid, who said he sustained both "sexual and spiritual" abuse repeatedly as an altar boy and sought such a meeting since 2003, said he pointed to the pope's chest and told him that he "has a cancer growing in his ministry and he needs to know about it." Asked if the pontiff heard him, he responded, "Absolutely."

Earlier, at his mass for a crowd of 45,000 in Nationals Park on a glorious spring day, the pontiff called for a renewal of hope in Christ but conceded that some sinful shepherds had brought suffering to their faithful flocks in scandals that have shaken Catholics everywhere.

"It is in the context of this hope born of God's love and fidelity that I acknowledge the pain which the church in America has experienced as a result of the sexual abuse of minors," the pope said. It was his third public reference to the issue since Tuesday, when he began his first trip to the United States as leader of the world's Roman Catholics.

"No words of mine could describe the pain and harm inflicted by such abuse. It is important that those who have suffered be given loving pastoral attention," he told the receptive crowd. "Nor can I adequately describe the damage that has occurred within the community of the church."

The pope said Catholics must embrace the virtues of forgiveness.

"Today I encourage each of you to do what you can to foster healing and reconciliation, and to assist those who have been hurt," he said. "Also, I ask you to love your priests, and to affirm them in the excellent work that they do."

Thousands of priests have been accused of molesting minors in the U.S. since 1950, and the church has paid out more than $2 billion in damages.

More than four hours before the pope spoke at 10 a.m. EDT, packed Metro trains were bringing the crowd to the newly opened ballpark. While a few protesters outside criticized the church's response to the sex abuse scandal, a carnival atmosphere prevailed inside as the crowd bought Vatican souvenirs and waved yellow and white flags.

Preaching from an altar in center field, the scarlet-clad pontiff gave a sermon looked forward more than backward.

"Hope, hope for the future, is very much a part of the American character," he said "And the Christian virtue of hope ... continues to mark the life of the Catholic community in this country."

From the moment his white Mercedes Popemobile entered the field, the crowd offered thunderous approval of the white-haired pontiff and his message.

"Getting settled in, there was a stadium atmosphere. People were talking and eating. But once the mass began it truly was a spiritual place and the grace of the Holy Spirit was there," said Natacha Pelaez-Wagner, a management consultant from Austin, Texas.

"I felt a presence from the time I walked into the stadium until I walked out of it," said Jim Coy, a retired air traffic controller from Austin. "The Holy Spirit was there and He was following the pontiff."

The pope "spoke of the gratitude to our nation, the rich diversity of our nation," said Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito of the diocese of Palm Beach. "His warmth came across to all the people. I think he touched the hearts of all the people.

"People were just trying to touch him. You could see the joy their faces as well as on his face as they grasped his hand and he grasped their hands back."

"The pope delivered a great message — a message of faith, hope and love," said Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. "One of my Republican colleagues, sitting behind me, said 'Dr. King would have been very proud of what is happening here.' And I said, he would have been."

While praising America in his remarks, the pope also recalled some of its shortcomings.

"Americans have always been a people of hope. Your ancestors came to this country with the expectation of finding new freedom and opportunity," he said. "To be sure, this promise was not experienced by all the inhabitants of this land. One thinks of the injustices endured by the native American peoples and by those brought here forcibly from Africa as slaves."

A statement released by the White House and the Vatican after the pope's White House meeting Wednesday pointed to other concerns.

It said Benedict and President Bush had discussed "the need for a coordinated policy regarding immigration, especially the humane treatment of immigrants and the well-being of their families."

The statement also said the leaders had "touched on the need to confront terrorism with appropriate means that respect the human person and his or her rights'' — an apparent reference to the Vatican's strong condemnation of the mistreatment of prisoners.

In his ballpark sermon, the pope said the world, as well as the church, faces stark choices.

"Who can deny that the present moment is a crossroads, not only for the church in America but also for society as a whole?" asked the pope. "It is a time of great promise, as we see the human family in many ways drawing closer together and becoming ever more interdependent.

"Yet at the same time we see clear signs of a disturbing breakdown in the very foundations of society: signs of alienation, anger and polarization on the part of many of our contemporaries; increased violence; a weakening of the moral sense; a coarsening of social relations; and a growing forgetfulness of God."

Early Thursday evening, the pope met with the heads of more than 200 Catholic colleges and universities on the campus of Catholic University, arriving on campus to cheers from throngs of students. He affirmed academic freedom, but told them that Catholic educators have a "profound responsibility to lead the young to truth."

"Teachers and administrators, whether in universities or schools, have the duty and privilege to ensure that students receive instruction in Catholic doctrine and practice," Benedict said. "Divergence from this vision weakens Catholic identity and, far from advancing freedom, inevitably leads to confusion, whether moral, intellectual or spiritual."

Later Thursday, he met with Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and representatives of other religions at a nearby cultural center and pledged the church's commitment to interreligious dialogue.

"It was very meaningful, very touching," said Rabbi Gilbert Rosenthal of West Palm Beach, the director of the National Council of Synagogues. "There is a gentleness and shyness about the pope, while he's obviously an intellectual."

Rosenthal was among the official presenters and spoke briefly one-on-one with the pontiff. The pope expressed support for Israel and promised to "let dialogue flourish" between the faiths, he said.

Material from the Associated Press and Reuters was used in this article.