On the second and final day of his visit to Malta, Pope Benedict XVI has met with a group of people who were abused by Roman Catholic clergy.
 

It is the first time the pope has addressed the issue since the latest wave of sex abuse scandals swept over the Roman Catholic Church.

The pope promised that the Church "will do all in its power" to bring the guilty to justice and protect the young. According to a Vatican statement that was issued after the pope met privately with eight Maltese sex abuse victims, "the pope prayed with them and assured them that the church is doing, and will continue do, all in its power to investigate allegations, to bring to justice those responsible for abuse and to implement effective measures designed to safeguard young people in the future".

The meeting took place shortly after an open-air mass in Floriana, just outside the capital Valletta.