Pope urges Church to purify itself

Published on Saturday 19 April 2008 19:44

POPE Benedict, marking the third anniversary of his election, yesterday urged the US Catholic Church to overcome its divisions and seek "purification" and the truth following its sexual abuse scandal.

Benedict began the penultimate day of his first US papal visit with a solemn Mass in New York's St Patrick Cathedral, the Gothic cathedral completed in 1879 with the pennies of immigrants and known as the centre of American Catholicism.

The Pope rode down New York's usually bustling Fifth Avenue, which was deserted and sealed off by security agents, in a black limousine and emerged wearing a fur-fringed white cape.

The Pope spoke out about the sexual abuse scandal that rocked the US church and has cost it some 1bn in settlement payments with victims.

In his sermon, he said he was spiritually close to the US church as it deals with the aftermath of the scandal and cleanses and renews itself.

"I join you in praying that this will be a time of purification for every particular church and religious community, a time for healing," he said.

"I also encourage you to cooperate with your bishops, who continue to work to effectively resolve this issue."

The Pope, who lamented "division between different groups, different generations, different members of the same religious family", asked God to grant the US church "a renewed sense of unity and purpose" so that it could "move forward in hope, in love for the truth and for one another".

Today the Pope is to visit the site of the World Trade Center and celebrate Mass at Yankee Stadium.