Sydney, July 19:Pope Benedict on Saturday apologised directly for the first time for sexual abuse of minors by the Catholic clergy, but victims groups in Australia said they wanted action and not words.

The Pope, making some of his most explicit comments on the sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the Church in several countries, also said that those responsible should be brought to justice.

The Pope made a last-minute addition to his prepared homily in St Mary’s Cathedral, adding one powerful and personal sentence — using the word “I” three times — the Vatican had hoped would satisfy victims groups.

“Indeed, I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims have endured and I assure them that as their pastor I too share in their suffering,” he said.

Acknowledging the “shame which we have all felt”, he called sexual abuse of minors an “evil” and that “those responsible for these evils must be brought to justice”.

But minutes after he spoke, victims’ groups said it was not enough and an anti-Pope protest was held as some 250,000 young pilgrims in Sydney for World Youth Day celebrations marched to a suburban racetrack for an evening prayer vigil with the pope.

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