Pope stresses need for faith

SILAO, Mexico – Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday told Mexican Catholics that renewed faith and a pure heart will help them stand up to “distressing times of human suffering” in a nation stalked by drug violence, crime and uncertainty.

At a vast, sunbaked, open-air Mass, with several hundred thousand people arrayed before him, the pope said Mexico faced “times of sorrow as well as hope,” and he reiterated a call for the special protection of children.

Of particular significance here, Benedict repeatedly invoked the Virgin of Guadalupe, patron saint of Mexico and Latin America.

“At this time, when so many families are separated or forced to emigrate, when so many are suffering due to poverty, corruption, domestic violence, drug trafficking, the crisis of values and increased crime, we come to Mary in search of consolation, strength and hope,” he said.

Faith in her and the “true God,” he said, is the way to “overcome … all evil and to establish a more just and fraternal society.”

More than 50,000 people have been killed in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon launched a military-led offensive against powerful drug cartels nearly 5  1/2 years ago.

Sunday’s Mass in Bicentennial Park at the foot of a hill topped by an imposing Christ the King monument was the main event in Benedict’s three-day stay in Mexico. Benedict did a flyover in a military helicopter to observe the monument, which honors the 1920s armed uprising by Catholics against anti-clerical laws, including a ban on open-air Mass celebrations.

Although Vatican officials put the crowd size Sunday at half a million, the number of those in attendance seemed closer to 200,000 to 300,000. Still, hundreds, maybe thousands, of people were turned away by organizers.

For those who did get a seat, there were enthusiasm, shouts of “Viva el papa!” and roars of approval when Benedict, inside the popemobile, donned a wide-brimmed black charro hat.