Pope, in dramatic move, comforts sex abuse victims

Pope Benedict, in a dramatic surprise, held an emotional meeting on Thursday with victims of sexual abuse by priests, consoling them and promising them his prayers.

The 25-minute meeting, believed to be the first time a pope had met victims of sexual abuse by priests, was held in the Vatican Embassy chapel and kept secret until after it was over.

The encounter capped three days of comments the pope has made expressing deep shame about the scandal that has rocked the U.S. Church. He arrived in the United States on Tuesday for a six-day visit, his first as pontiff. He succeeded Pope John Paul II in April 2005, three years after the scandal erupted in the United States.

"They prayed with the Holy Father, who afterward listened to their personal accounts and offered them words of encouragement and hope," a Vatican statement said of the abuse victims. "His holiness assured them of his prayers for their intentions, for their families and for all victims of sexual abuse."

Three victims told CNN they were deeply moved by the way Benedict apologized, listened to and comforted them. "It was absolutely emotional," one of them, Olan Horne, said. "And he responded accordingly to that. And I found that refreshing."

"We're at the beginning of a new start, and there's real hope this time," Bernie McDaid said. "It's not just words. I think there's going to be action following this moment now."

Faith Johnston said she did not say anything. "I got up to him and I burst into tears," she said.

Cardinal Sean O'Malley, the archbishop of Boston where the scandal broke in 2002, accompanied the group, which a Vatican source said was made up of about a half-a-dozen middle-aged men and women.

Representatives of victims welcomed the meeting but called for more action. "This is a small, long overdue step forward on a very long road," said Joelle Casteix of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

Chief Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said there was a lot of emotion in the room and some victims cried. Each victim then chatted personally with the pope.

Benedict spoke "affectionate words" to the group and O'Malley gave the pope a notebook with the names of about 1,000 abuse victims in the Boston Archdiocese, so that the pope could pray for all of them, Lombardi said.

O'Malley replaced Boston's former archbishop, Cardinal Bernard Law, who resigned in December 2002 over the scandal