Hundreds of thousands of people attended a giant mass with Pope Benedict XVI in Portugal Thursday in what the Church said was a massive show of support for his handling of the paedophile priest crisis.
The Fatima sanctuary's huge esplanade was full to overflowing and Church organisers said half a million people attended the outdoor mass, a greater number than joined Benedict's popular predecessor John Paul II here in 2000.
"As far the crisis and scandals are concerned, I think that the people wanted to show that they can distinguish between exceptions and the vast majority of their priests," Portuguese epispocal spokesman Manuel Morujao said.
Benedict himself appeared buoyed by the crowd, telling them of the "great hope which burns in my own heart, and which here, in Fatima, can be palpably felt."
The 83-year-old German pontiff has often cut a dour, professorial figure when compared to his media-savvy Polish predecessor, but five years into his papacy he has proved a huge draw since his arrival in Portugal on Tuesday.
"I have come to Fatima to pray, in union with Mary and so many pilgrims, for our human family, afflicted as it is by various ills and sufferings," Benedict declared in his homily.
His Church has been engulfed in a series of unfolding sex abuse scandals amid allegations that the Vatican had wilfully protected paedophile priests from prosecution in several European countries and the United States.
A rock festival atmosphere unfolded ahead of the pope's arrival for mass as flags flew, pilgrims climbed on statues of saints to get a view and the obligatory queues formed for toilets.
Thursday's mass was the high point of a four-day visit to Portugal and rain fell on thousands who spent the night on the esplanade in sleeping bags -- and a lucky few under tents -- to make sure they got a place.
"People need something that gives them hope, there are many problems in the world and it is not surprising that there are so many people here," said Maria Caldeira, 66, wearing a transparent blue plastic raincoat against intermittent showers.
Earlier, the pontiff blessed and kissed two swaddled babies thrust at him through the open window of his popemobile, before stoking the crowd's enthusiasm by circling the esplanade on his way to the altar, smiling and waving to the massed ranks of flag and hat-waving pilgrims.
Morujao said several factors were responsible for the massive turnout but mainly "the fact that the image given of the pope has been unfair".
"I think that Christians wanted to send a message to say that the pope, and this one in particular, is very much loved, and to say also that shyness is not a fault, but part of character."
The two-hour ceremony marked the 93rd anniversary of the Virgin Mary's reported apparitions to three shepherd children. The incident in 1917 led to the founding of the pilgrimage site, now one of Christianity's biggest.
A statue of Our Lady of Fatima, perched atop of bed of white roses and borne by soldiers, took centre stage behind a procession of bishops before the mass began. Pilgrims threw rose petals at the statue as it passed by.
The late John Paul II credited the Virgin with deflecting an assassin's bullet in 1981 and placed a bullet taken from his body in the crown of the statue during a visit of thanksgiving the following year.
Official figures for John Paul II's last of three visits here in 2000 put that turnout at 400,000.
"According to what I've heard from several people used to making these estimations, including someone at the paramilitary police, there are around half-a-million people. Therefore more than in 2000," said Morujao.
Benedict has used his visit to warn Portugal of the consequences of increasing secularism in a country set to legalise gay marriage next week.
Nearly 90 percent of Portuguese are Catholic but only about 20 percent are practising.
He also issued a rallying call to priests, telling them on Wednesday to "take a firm stand" for their vocation.
The pope said en route to Portugal that the problems the Church was facing came not from its enemies, but from sin within the institution itself. And he said that justice for the victims of abuse must be a priority.
Copyright 2010 AFP Global Edition
