Pope consoles New York clergy who 'bear the shame' of sex abuse scandal

Pope Francis thanked American clergymen on Thursday for their faithful service to the church in the face of the sex abuse scandal.

At an evening prayer service in St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, Francis also thanked American nuns for their strength and courage in a deeply meaningful acknowledgement of their service following a years-long Vatican crackdown.

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The Pope plunged into the melting pot of New York on Thursday after reminding the country of its immigrant origins in the first papal speech before Congress.

Over 40 hours in New York, Francis will address world leaders at the United Nations, participate in an interfaith service at the Sept. 11 memorial and celebrate Mass at Madison Square Garden.

He will visit a school in Harlem and take drive through Central Park — a whirlwind tour of the Big Apple that got off to a quintessential welcome with a high school brass band serenading him with "New York, New York," on the airport tarmac.

The popular pontiff received raucous cheers upon his arrival in Manhattan. Thousands of people lined the streets leading to St. Patrick's to greet him, cheering, waving flags and adoringly chanting his name as he gestured toward them from his popemobile.

On the steps of the recently spruced up cathedral, dignitaries including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio and U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer welcomed him for an evening vespers service.

Once inside, the pews full of U.S. priests and sisters erupted in applause when Francis told American nuns that he wanted to thank them for their strength, spirit and courage and to "tell you that I love you very much."

It was the strongest expression yet of his gratitude for American nuns after the Vatican under his predecessor ordered an overhaul of the largest umbrella group of U.S. sisters, accusing them of straying from church teaching. The nuns denied the charge and received an outpouring of support from American Catholics, and the crackdown ended this year, two years early, with no major changes.

The Pope has again raised the clergy sex abuse crisis, by consoling clergy for the suffering the scandal had caused them.

Francis told members of religious orders and diocesan priests on Thursday that he was aware they had "suffered greatly" by having to "bear the shame" of clergy who had molested children. He thanked them for their faithful service to the church in the face of the scandal.

"You suffered greatly in the not-too-distant past by having to bear the shame of some of your brothers who harmed and scandalized the Church in the most vulnerable of her members," he said.

The Pope made the comments at a prayer service at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. He made similar comments in an address to bishops Wednesday in Washington, praising them for what he called their "generous commitment" to helping victims.

The comments have angered advocates for victims, who say American bishops only took decisive action to stop perpetrators when lawsuits and government investigations revealed documents that showed the scope of the problem. The abuse crisis erupted in 2002 with the case of one pedophile priest in the Archdiocese of Boston, then spread across the country and overseas.

A Vatican spokesman defended the Pope's remarks, saying it was appropriate to recognize the bishops' extensive reforms over more than a decade in response to the scandal.

In Washington earlier Thursday, the Pope waded into bitter disputes while speaking to Congress, entreating the nation to share its immense wealth with those less fortunate. He urged Congress and the nation to abolish the death penalty, fight global warming and embrace immigrants. Lawmakers gave rousing ovations to the leader of the world's Catholics despite obvious disagreements over some of his pleas.

After he addressed Congress, the first pontiff to do so, he underscored his message by traveling to a downtown Washington church, where he mingled with needy and homeless people, blessed their noontime meal and walked among them while they ate.

Francis wraps up his visit this weekend in Philadelphia, where he speaks in front of Independence Hall and celebrates Mass on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to close out a big Catholic family rally.

At the Capitol, the remarkable sight of the pope speaking in the House chamber seemed to delight lawmakers of all persuasions, though he offered an agenda more to Democrats' liking. Besides his focus on climate change and immigration, he denounced arms sales and seemed to allude approvingly to the Iran nuclear deal and recent actions by President Barack Obama's administration to open relations with Cuba, done with his urging.

Republicans, too, heard something to like in his references to the sanctity of life and family relations, reminders that even the more open Catholic Church over which Francis presides still condemns abortion and gay marriage.

For all the spectacle, it seemed unlikely the pope's visit would break congressional inertia on the issues dear to him, with no action in sight from the Republican majority on global warming or immigration.

But Francis, in his historic speech, seemed determined to remind the United States of its foundations as a country made up of foreigners, addressing the chamber and the American people beyond in personal terms as a son of immigrants to "this great continent."

"We must resolve now to live as nobly and as justly as possible as we educate new generations not to turn their back on our neighbours and everything around us," he said. "We must not be taken aback by their numbers but rather view them as persons, seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best we can to their situation."

After the address, Francis appeared high on a Capitol balcony and addressed a cheering crowd of thousands below on the lawn and the Mall beyond who had watched his speech on giant TV screens.

"Buenos dias," he called out in the language of his native Argentina and millions of U.S. immigrants, legal and not.

"God bless America!" he concluded, as he had in the House chamber.