LISBON - POPE Benedict XVI said on Tuesday that the Church's 'truly terrifying' problems come from sin within the institution, in his strongest comments yet on sexual abuse by priests as he began a visit to Portugal.'Today, we see in a truly terrifying way that the greatest persecution of the Church does not come from outside enemies, but from the sin within the Church itself,' the pope said on the plane taking him to Lisbon for the four-day tour.
The 83-year-old pontiff did not refer directly to the crisis once on Portuguese soil, where he celebrated open air mass in front of some 80,000 people, Pope Benedict said during his homily at the giant gathering on the banks of the Tagus river.
Tens of thousands of families, teenagers and the elderly gathered in the Portuguese capital to greet the pope, and in many cases offer support to the Catholic leader as he battles the Church's biggest crisis in decades. In his comments, the strongest yet on the issue from Pope Benedict, he said the victims' need for justice had to take priority. The Church had a 'profound need' to 'learn forgiveness and also the necessity of justice,' but he underlined that 'forgiveness does not replace justice'.
'He has always said there needs to be justice,' Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told reporters later. US victims' support group dismissed the comments as meaningless and a poor substitute for action. 'There is no action,' said Barbara Blaine, founder and president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).
'Previous to this, he was pointing fingers at the press, saying you were anti-Catholic. He said victims who spoke up were engaging in petty gossip... He may have stopped that extreme pointing of fingers, but he hasn't taken any action that will protect children,' Ms Blaine told AFP. -- AFP
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