(Reuters) - Pope Benedict straddled his homeland's religious and geographic divisions on Saturday, praising the faithful for enduring communism's "acid rain" effect in former East Germany and then addressing cheering Catholic crowds in the west.
At a mass in the medieval main square during a subdued visit to Erfurt, where only about seven percent of people are Catholic, he praised eastern Germans who stayed loyal to the Church during oppressive years under Nazism and communism.
"You have had to endure first a brown and then a red dictatorship, which acted on the Christian faith like acid rain," he told the crowd from the altar, set against a hill dominated by Erfurt's cathedral and another Catholic church.
Later, after flying to Germany's southwestern corner, he greeted cheering crowds in the mainly Catholic city of Freiburg, the last stop on a four-day tour which is his third visit to his homeland since being elected in 2005.
About two hours before the mass a man fired an air gun at security staff at an Erfurt checkpoint in an apparent protest against the strict crowd-control measures, police said.
The Vatican said the pope was never in any danger.
Benedict attracted small crowds in mostly Protestant Berlin and Erfurt. Berlin saw loud protests against the Church's moral positions and its sexual abuse scandals, but the numbers were far smaller in Erfurt, where the welcome was subdued and at times indifferent.
By contrast in Freiburg on Saturday, thousands of people waved yellow and white Vatican flags and cheered as the popemobile made its way to a packed square in front of the cathedral. A small group of protesters debated with Catholics on the main square, across from a shop selling "pope wine."
ABUSE VICTIMS MEETING
Benedict held a surprise meeting on Friday evening in Erfurt with victims of sexual abuse by priests. Church officials said on Saturday there were three men and two women present, chosen from many victims around Germany who had asked to meet the pope.
"The atmosphere of the meeting was rather relaxed," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told a news conference. "It was very important that the Pope expressed he shares in the pain the victims suffered and that the Church will do everything to prevent that happening again in the future."
About 700 Germans have filed for compensation for abuse by priests and Church personnel. A record 181,000 Germans left the Church last year, many in protest at the abuse scandal.
Father Hans Langendoerfer, secretary general of the German Bishops Conference, said the atmosphere at the meeting was "emotionally charged," with some of the victims crying.
A Vatican statement after his meeting with victims at the Erfurt seminary said the pope assured victims the Church was "committed to the promotion of effective measures to protect children."
On Friday, Benedict called for unity between Catholics and Protestants at the monastery where 16th century reformer Martin Luther lived before he posted his 95 theses criticizing the Catholic Church that led to the Reformation.
But he resisted the persistent calls by Protestant leaders and some prominent Catholic lay people for practical steps such as letting Protestants receive Catholic communion.
"ECUMENICAL DISASTER"
German media sharply criticized him for ruling out reforms.
"Pope disappoints Protestants" read the headline in Munich's Sueddeutsche Zeitung. "Even less than a little bit," was the way the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung described Benedict's gestures toward more unity with the Protestants.
"An ecumenical disaster," wrote the Frankfurter Rundschau, blasting Benedict's treatment of Protestant leaders in Erfurt as "spectacularly half-hearted, patronizing and callous."
Erfurt residents among the 30,000 at mass there said they hoped for closer ecumenical ties in Germany where Christians are split equally between Catholics and Protestants.
"I hope the two faiths come closer together. There have been some small steps, but I think it's a long way off," said policeman Michael Weiss, 43.
Interviewed on German radio, German Church spokesman Matthias Kopp rejected criticism the Church was paying about 30 million euros ($40 million) for the pope's visit but only 2 million euros in compensation to about 700 victims.
The 30 million euros were needed to pay for open-air masses attended by about 260,000 Catholics, he said.
Kopp said the anti-pope protests had been "rather small events. In Berlin they expected 20,000 and only about 8,000-9,000 turned up. There were some 200 in Erfurt. The pope knows about this and he's taking it pretty calmly."
No comments:
Post a Comment