Silenced Pope draws extra Vatican support

TENS of thousands of people packed Pope Benedict XVI’s traditional noontime blessing yesterday in a show of support after the Vatican cancelled his visit to a university because of protests by students and faculty.

The Pope’s vicar for Rome, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, had urged a high turnout for Benedict’s weekly blessing at St Peter’s Square. The Vatican estimated the crowd at 200,000.

The Vatican cancelled the pope’s speech last Thursday at Rome’s La Sapienza university after 63 professors and some students said they opposed his antiquated views on science. The Vatican said it did not want to create a pretext for further unpleasantness by going ahead with the visit.

Benedict said he had put off the visit “against my will” but the climate surrounding his appearance had made his presence at the school “inopportune”.

He noted he had a long history in academia — he taught theology in Germany for many years — and that he was greatly attached to the “love for the search for truth, for confrontation, for frank and respectful dialogue for reciprocal positions” found in university life.

He encouraged “students and professors, to always be respectful of other people’s opinions and to search for truth and goodness”.