Pope attacks abortion and gay marriage

The pope today labelled abortion and gay marriage two of the most “insidious and dangerous” threats facing the world today.

He made the comments to Catholic educators, social workers and others after celebrating mass before an estimated 400,000 people in Fatima, one of the most important shrines in Christianity.

His visit to Fatima was the spiritual centrepiece of his four-day visit to Portugal.

It was cast by Vatican officials as evidence that the pope had turned a page in weathering the clerical sex abuse scandal that has dogged him for months.

The pope returns to the Vatican tomorrow after celebrating mass in Porto, the country’s second-largest city.