Pope Benedict, facing one of the gravest crises of his pontificate as a sexual abuse scandal sweeps the Church, indicated on Sunday that his faith would give him the courage not to be intimidated by critics. The 82-year-old pontiff led tens of thousands of people in a sunny St. Peter's Square in a Palm Sunday service at the start of Holy Week events commemorating the last days in Jesus's life.
While he did not directly mention the scandal involving sexual abuse of children by priests, parts of his sermon could be applicable to the crisis he and his Church are facing. The pontiff said faith in God helps lead one "towards the courage of not allowing oneself to be intimidated by the petty gossip of dominant opinion".
He also spoke of how man can sometimes "fall to the lowest, vulgar levels" and "sink into the swamp of sin and dishonesty". One prayer read at the Mass asked God to help "the young and those who work to educate and protect them", which Vatican Radio said was intended to "sum up the feelings of the Church at this difficult time when it confronts the plague of paedophilia".
As the scandal has convulsed the Church in the United States and Europe, the Vatican has gone on the defensive, attacking the media for what it called an "ignoble attempt" to smear Pope Benedict and his top advisers "at any cost". But on Saturday, the Vatican's chief spokesman acknowledged that the Church's response to cases of sexual abuse by priests is crucial to its credibility and it must "acknowledge and make amends for" even decades-old cases.
"The nature of this issue is bound to attract media attention and the way the Church responds is crucial for its moral credibility," the Vatican's chief spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said on Vatican Radio.
Although the cases cited happened long ago, "even decades ago, acknowledging them and making amends to the victims is the price for re-establishing justice and looking to the future with renewed vigour, humility and confidence", Lombardi said. Sunday marked the start of a hectic week during which the Pope presides over seven major events leading up to Easter.