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SYDNEY: Pope Benedict XVI hailed the Australian government's apology to Aborigines for past injustices Thursday as he took charge of Catholic World Youth Day celebrations.
The pontiff was speaking at a formal welcoming ceremony attended by Governor-General Michael Jeffery, the representative of Australia's head of state, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
"Thanks to the Australian government's courageous decision to acknowledge the injustices committed against the indigenous peoples in the past, concrete steps are now being taken to achieve reconciliation based on mutual respect," Benedict said.
"This example of reconciliation offers hope to peoples all over the world who long to see their rights affirmed and their contribution to society acknowledged and promoted."
Rudd delivered an historic apology to the Aboriginal people for injustices committed over two centuries of white settlement in an address to parliament in February.
The apology to indigenous people, who now make up just 470,000 of the population of 21 million and remain the poorest and most marginalised of Australians, was viewed as a watershed for the country.
But there was some confusion Thursday over whether the pope would deliver an apology of his own - to Australian victims of sex abuse by Catholic clergymen, as the scandal cast a shadow over the world's biggest Christian festival.
Benedict indicated to journalists on his plane on the way to Australia on Sunday that he would apologise but a Vatican official late Wednesday raised doubts over the issue.
"The pope in the plane spoke of the problems of sexual abuse but I don't think he said he would apologise and I advise you to listen to what the pope says," Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, told journalists.
In his address at the official welcoming ceremony, the pontiff said World Youth Day, which has drawn some 200,000 pilgrims to Sydney, "fills me with confidence for the future of the church and the future of our world."
Benedict then touched on what he had already flagged as one of the major themes of his visit - care for the environment at a time when global warming is a major concern, particularly in Australia, the world's driest continent.
"With many thousands of young people visiting Australia at this time it is appropriate to reflect upon the kind of world we are handing on to future generations," he said.
"The wonder of God's creation reminds us of the need to protect the environment and to exercise responsible stewardship of the goods of the earth."
Rudd, a committed Christian who attends Anglican services, told the pope at the ceremony at Sydney's Government House that he was welcomed by Australians of all faiths "as an apostle of peace."
Hundreds of thousands of people were expected to line Sydney's harbour and streets later for the pope's formal public arrival, organisers said.
A massive flotilla will line up to view a "boat-a-cade" carrying the 81-year-old pontiff across Sydney's world-famous harbour to a wharf at Barangaroo where he will address up to 150,000 pilgrims.
"We expect up to half a million including those in the venue for the pope's arrival and those lining the streets," said World Youth Day spokesman Jim Hanna.
The pope arrived in Sydney on Sunday but took a four-day holiday before beginning his formal duties, which end with a papal mass on Sunday.
World Youth Day, a celebration of the Catholic faith aimed at rejuvenating the church, has been held in a different host city around the world every two or three years since 1986.
- AFP/yb
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