Apr 17, 2008 8:54 am US/Eastern
Thousands Head To D.C. For Papal Mass
WASHINGTON (WJZ/AP) ―
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Thousands head to Washington, D.C. for an experience of a lifetime--Mass with Pope Benedict XVI.
CBS
Thousands of people are filling the Nationals' new ballpark for an open-air Mass with Pope Benedict XVI.
Gigi Barnett reports Pope Benedict will be center-stage with an adoring public Thursday as he celebrates an open air Mass in Washington.
The event is being held in the city's brand new major-league ballpark. A gold curtain and crucifix provide the backdrop for the largest stage yet on the pope's six-day U.S. visit.
The archdiocese distributed the maximum 46,000 tickets but had requests for at least twice that many.
It's a setting the pope's charismatic predecessor, John Paul, would have adored. Pope Benedict's substance is similar but his style and personality set him apart. He's a soft-spoken theologian noted for a brilliant mind, but he's less the actor and performer John Paul was.
Wednesday, the pope confronted the clergy sex scandal head-on and with conviction in an address to U.S. bishops. Benedict called it a "deep shame" and decried the "enormous pain" that communities have suffered from such "gravely immoral behavior."
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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