Pope in Portugal
May 13, 2010
Nearly half a million people flocked to hear Pope Benedict XVI celebrate a Mass at the shrine of Fatima in Portugal, one of Christianity's holiest sites.
Many of the worshippers had camped out overnight to attend the two-hour ceremony.
The overwhelming support was evidence of Church's continued influence despite the sex abuse scandal, said Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi.
"What's happened in the last few months, with the problems of the abuse scandal, could lead one to think that the attention and energy towards the pope has been weakened, but that has not happened," he told reporters.
Gay marraige 'threat'
In his speech, the 83-year-old German-born pontiff criticized gay marriage and abortion as "insidious and dangerous threats to the common good."
Portugal is set to legalize gay marriage next week, just three years after the deeply Catholic country decriminalized abortion.
The mass at Fatima was considered by many to be the highlight of the pope's visit to Portugal, which began in Lisbon on Tuesday and is to end in Porto on Friday.
smh/AFP/dpa/AP
Editor: Chuck Penfold