Pope Benedict XVI prayed with tearful victims of clergy sex abuse in a chapel Thursday, an extraordinary gesture from a pontiff who has made atoning for the great shame of the U.S. church the cornerstone of his first papal trip to America.<\/p>\n
Benedict’s third day in the U.S. began with a packed open-air Mass celebrated in 10 languages at a baseball stadium, and it included a speech to Roman Catholic college and university presidents.<\/p>\n
But the real drama happened privately, in the chapel of the papal embassy between events.<\/p>\n
The Rev. Federico Lombardi, a papal spokesman, said that Benedict and Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley met with a group of five or six clergy sex abuse victims for about 25 minutes, offering them encouragement and hope.<\/p>\n
“They prayed together. Also, each of them had their own individual time with the Holy Father,” Lombardi said. “Some were in tears.”<\/p>\n