Francis was spending five days in Lisbon, blending a state visit and pilgrimage to the Catholic shrine at Fatima with the raucous trappings of World Youth Day, the Catholic jamboree that aims to rally young Catholics in their faith. More than 1 million young people from around the world were expected to attend the gathering, which culminates with a papal Mass on Sunday.
"We are sailing amid storms on the ocean of history, and we sense the need for courageous courses of peace," he said. "It is my hope that World Youth Day will be, for the `Old Continent,' the aged continent, an impulse towards universal openness." Francis is widely expected to meet in private with abuse survivors this week and could well refer to the problem in his public remarks, as he has done during past foreign trips. Portuguese bishops were widely criticized for their initial response to the findings of an independent commission, which reported in February that at least 4,815 boys and girls were abused in the country since 1950, most of them ranging in age from 10 to 14.
In its place, victims' advocates launched a campaign called "This is our memorial." Hours before the pope arrived, they put up a billboard in central Lisbon reading "4,800+ Children Abused by the Catholic Church in Portugal." They said it was paid for by a crowdfunding campaign that was so successful that organizers have enough money to put up more around the city, though it wasn't clear if Francis would see any during his visit.