Pope: Church's Greatest Enemy Comes From Within

LISBON, Portugal (May 11) -- In some of his most direct comments about priestly sex abuse, Pope Benedict XVI said today that the "terrifying" truth is that the Catholic Church's "greatest persecution" has come from within its own ranks.

Benedict arrived in Lisbon this morning at the start of a four-day Portugal tour. Hours later he celebrated an open-air mass on the capital's riverfront, and heads Wednesday to Fatima, a pilgrimage site where faithful believe the Virgin Mary appeared to shepherd children in 1917. In Fatima, the pope is marking the 10th anniversary of the shepherds' beatification, which put them on the road to sainthood.

Aboard his plane en route to Lisbon, Benedict spoke to reporters from several news agencies and delivered perhaps his most forthright comments on the sex abuse scandal that broke two months ago, embroiling the church worldwide and leading to dozens of lawsuits as well as resignations of bishops and priests.

"Today we see in a truly terrifying way that the greatest persecution of the church does not come from outside enemies but is born of sin within the church," the 83-year-old pontiff said in response to a question about the scandal, submitted in advance.

"The church has a deep need to learn to do penance, accept purification, and to learn to ask forgiveness," he said. But he added that "forgiveness cannot be a substitute for justice."

Allegations that church leaders covered up sex abuse by pedophile priests and shielded them from prosecution in several European countries and the U.S. have overshadowed preparations for Pope Benedict's visit to Portugal, his first since becoming pope five years ago.

Portugal is an example of a once-traditional Catholic country that's become more secular in recent years, and where the church would like to reassert its influence. About 90 percent of Portuguese consider themselves Catholics, but only 20 percent attend weekly services. Until the mid-1970s, Portugal was ruled by a military dictatorship that leaned heavily on Catholic doctrine in its governing philosophy. But the country recently legalized abortion and has voted to allow gay marriage -- policies opposed by the church.

"We're becoming more European. For the last 30 years, there's been a major change in Portugal," Rita Neves, a 23-year-old security volunteer, told AOL News at the pope's evening appearance in Lisbon. "I don't know if the pope believes that he's losing Portugal, but the fact is he is losing our country."

Tens of thousands of faithful -- including elderly in wheelchairs, teenagers on roller blades and parents carrying small children in their arms -- turned out this evening to watch Benedict celebrate mass at a 16th century cobblestone square in downtown Lisbon. City buses were festooned with yellow-and-white Vatican flags, and vendors hawked T-shirts reading "Papa Bento" -- the pope's Portuguese moniker.

"It's the first time he's come to our country, and seeing him is the No. 1 experience for any Catholic," said Joao Duarte, a 48-year-old antiques auction dealer who left work early to attend the pope's mass in Lisbon.

Acknowledging Benedict's earlier comments about sex abuse, Duarte told AOL News: "I think he's right. The church is made of men, and men always have faults. He had to speak out. "

Wearing an ivory robe and large gold crucifix around his neck, Benedict rode through Lisbon's cordoned-off streets in a glass box atop a car -- his so-called 'popemobile' -- visible above a sea of supporters. He stopped to pray at the 16th century monastery of Jeronimos, built to honor Portuguese explorers who were the first Europeans to set foot in parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America, where the Catholic Church now counts more supporters than in Europe.

"Portugal has gained a glorious place among the nations for service rendered to the spreading of the faith: in all five continents there are local churches that owe their origin to the Portuguese missionary activity," the pope said at mass later in Lisbon's main square.

Arriving from Rome, Benedict was greeted this morning by Portugal's president, Anibal Cavaco Silva, and his wife Maria. The president welcomed the pope to a "free and plural Portugal" whose people, he said, have "a calling to recognize the value of diversity."

Portugal's Socialist party holds power in parliament, but Silva is from an opposition center-right party which opposed the country's gay marriage measure. The bill was endorsed by lawmakers, and Silva is due to decide next week whether to sign it into law. If he does, Portugal will be the sixth country in the world to allow same-sex marriage.