(From our correspondents in Sydney) – "To express his pastoral care for those who suffered abuse from the clergy, His Holiness Benedict XVI celebrated Holy Mass today before a representative group of victims". The news about the Mass celebrated this morning at 7 by the Pope before some victims of sexual abuse was relayed by the Vatican Newsroom. At the end of the celebration, the Holy Father met them personally, tells the spokesman of the Vatican Newsroom, Father Federico Lombardi, and told them "affectionate words of sympathy and comfort. "The Pope goes on the release listened to their stories and comforted them. Ensuring them of his spiritual sympathy, he promised he would keep praying for them, for their families and for all the victims". "With this fatherly gesture it concludes , the Holy Father wanted to show, once again, his care for all those who suffered sexual abuse". In this respect, the archdiocese of Sydney too issued a release, stating that it is "glad" about the Pope’s initiative which "reflects the endless commitment of all the Australian Church to healing and seeking justice for all those who suffered the terrible wound of sexual abuse".
