Pope says he’s ashamed, sorry for abuse as thousands march against visit in central London

Pope tells UK he’s sorry but thousands protest

LONDON — Pope Benedict XVI said Saturday he was ashamed of the “unspeakable” sexual abuse of children by priests, issuing an apology to the British faithful even as thousands of people opposed to his visit marched in central London in the biggest protest of his five-year papacy.

During a Mass in Westminster Cathedral, Benedict said he hoped the church’s humiliation would help victims heal and help the church purify itself of the sins of its ministers and renew its commitment to educating the young.

His comments, which were in line with his previous statements on the topic, were directed at Britain’s Catholic community in the seat of the English church, a sign that Benedict wanted to speak to the faithful about the humiliation they all felt as Catholics.

Hours later, abuse victims and demonstrators opposed to the pope’s stance against homosexuality, abortion and using condoms to fight AIDS marched from Hyde Park to Downing Street to protest the pope’s four-day state visit.

They carried banners reading: “The pope is wrong — put a condom on” and “Pope protects pedophile priests.”

Organizers said they expected 10,000 people, and thousands were seen marching through London. Police declined to give a crowd estimate. Even a crowd of a few thousand would make it the largest protest against Benedict since his election in 2005.

Benedict was miles away at the Vatican’s apostolic nunciature in Wimbledon, having lunch and resting. There were increasing indications, though, that he would meet with British abuse victims before the day’s end.

The sex abuse scandal has clouded Benedict’s state visit to this deeply secular nation with a centuries-old history of anti-Catholic sentiment. Polls have indicated widespread dissatisfaction in Britain with the way Benedict has handled the crisis, with Catholics nearly as critical of him as the rest of the population.

Anger over the scandal runs high in Britain in part because of the enormous scale of the abuse in neighboring Ireland, where government reports have detailed systematic abuse of children at church-run schools and cover-up by church

“I express my deep sorrow to the innocent victims of these unspeakable crimes, along with my hope that the power of Christ’s grace, his sacrifice of reconciliation, will bring deep healing and peace to their lives,” Benedict said.

He acknowledged the shame and humiliation all the faithful had suffered as a result of the scandal and said he hoped “this chastisement will contribute to the healing of the victims, the purification of the church and the renewal of her age-old commitment to the education and care of young people.”

He asked the faithful to show concern for victims and solidarity with priests.

Among those in the cathedral were former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a recent convert to Catholicism, and his wife, Cherie.

Martin Brown, 34, who was in the crowd outside the cathedral, termed it “a good apology.”

“He seemed to really mean it; he was genuinely sorry,” Brown said. “It’s good he mentioned it and it’s good he didn’t dwell on it for too long. He got it just about right.”

Chris Daly, a spokesman for Scottish abuse victims, said the pope’s words helped but that victims want to see action: an acknowledgment from church authorities of their failures and cover-up, and material support to help victims.

“There has to be an element of accountability here, and truth is a big issue here where the church has been complicit in a cover-up of the abuse,” he said. “They haven’t been open. They haven’t been truthful. It’s hardly Christlike to be complicit.”

In Scotland, more than 500 people claiming to be victims of abuse had been represented in a court case but were blocked by a time limit on bringing an action.

On his way to Britain, Benedict acknowledged to reporters that the church had failed to act quickly or decisively enough to stop the abuse and prevent it from recurring. Victims groups have dismissed such comments as hollow, saying they want the church to turn over information about suspected pedophiles in its ranks and take action, not words, to make children safer.

“We don’t need a pope who is sad about crimes. We need a pope who will prevent crimes,” Peter Isely of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said in a statement after the pontiff’s comments Saturday. “And his words prevent nothing.”

Benedict went ahead with a busy day Saturday, his third in Britain, as six men arrested in an alleged terror attempt against him remained in police custody. Police staged a pre-dawn raid Friday on a garbage depot and arrested five street cleaners; a sixth person was arrested later in the day.

Police say they were detained under the Terrorism Act “on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.”

The Vatican has said the pope was informed of the arrests, was calm, and no changes to his itinerary were planned.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi seemed to downplay the seriousness of the threat Saturday, telling reporters that the pope’s entourage was given the impression that the alleged plot was not a “major concern.”

Benedict began his day by meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and opposition leader Harriet Harman. The pope offered his condolences to Cameron following the death of his father, Lombardi said. All three gave the pope gifts, including drawings given by Clegg’s children.

After Mass, he issued a special greeting to young believers and the Welsh faithful — singled out because he won’t be traveling to Wales during this visit, only England and Scotland.

He was scheduled to visit a home for the elderly before celebrating an evening prayer service in Hyde Park in preparation for Sunday’s beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, a 19th century convert from Anglicanism whom the pope wants to hold up as a model for the faithful.

On Friday, Benedict addressed Britain’s political, financial and cultural elite in Westminster Hall, for centuries the seat of British political life. He demanded that religion have a voice in public policy and Christians in public roles be allowed to follow their consciences, lamenting that some even want to discourage Christmas celebrations.