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Pope Wraps Up Visit to Portugal With Outdoor Mass


Pope Benedict XVI has wrapped up his four-day visit to Portugal after celebrating a mass in the northern city of Porto, his final stop before heading back to Rome.

Thousands lined the streets of Porto to greet the pontiff, as he passed by in his special vehicle, known as the Popemobile.

On Thursday, Pope Benedict celebrated a special mass at the Fatima shrine in central Portugal to mark the anniversary of the day when three shepherd children reported seeing visions of the Virgin Mary in 1917.

During his trip, Pope Benedict acknowledged the Church's responsibility in the child sex abuse scandal, saying the crisis was caused by "sins within the church."

Pope Benedict has been accused of personally mishandling allegations of abuse that came to his office while he was a cardinal.

The Vatican has also been defensive about the sex abuse charges, with some officials recently accusing the media of slandering the pope.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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