Pope apologises to abuse victims 教皇为教会性丑闻道歉

The Pope has apologised to victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church for the first time.

He's been enjoying the company of thousands of young people in Sydney at World Youth Day. Now Pope Benedict said sorry for the sexual abuse suffered by children in Australia at the hands of Catholic clergy. He's described such acts as evil and a serious betrayal of trust.

I ask all of you to support and assist your bishops and to work together with them in combating this evil. Victims should receive compassion and care, and those responsible for these evils must be brought to justice.

It's thought to be the first time the Pontiff has specifically apologized for the alleged offences. Some support groups for abuse victims want him to apologize more fully though and do more to stop similar crimes happening again. The Pope's address came during the church's World Youth Day, a global celebration meant to inspire a new generation of Catholics. There are so many of them, that Sydney Harbor Bridge has been closed for only the third time in its history. On Sunday, 180, 000 are expected to attend a Mass celebrated by the Pope at Randwick Racecourse, the only open space, big enough to accommodate them all.

教皇首次为天主教会内的性丑闻道歉。

世界青年日的时候，他和数以千计的年轻人相伴。现在教皇Benedict为澳大利亚受神职人员性虐待的儿童道歉。他把这种行为称为罪恶，是严重的违背信任的。

我要求你们所有的人都要支持和协助你们的主教，和他们一起同罪恶斗争。受害者应该获得同情和关爱，那些犯罪的人必须绳之于法。

这被认为是天主教皇第一次特意为被指责的罪行道歉。有一些受虐待的受害者的支持者希望教皇能更真诚的道歉，并且采取措施避免类似的罪行再次发生。教皇在教堂的世界青年日期间讲这番话，这个节日是为了激发新一代的天主教徒。人员如此众多，悉尼港大桥历史上第三次被关闭。周日，预计将有18万人参加教皇在冉维特跑马场举行的弥撒，这是唯一一个能够容纳所有人的公共场所。