VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI has arrived in St. Peter's Square to beatify his predecessor Pope John Paul II, joining hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in moving the beloved former pontiff a step closer to possible sainthood.
Wearing John Paul's vestments and stopping to kiss babies, Benedict processed into the square that was packed before dawn in a scene reminiscent of John Paul's final days in 2005. Then, some 3 million people held around-the-clock vigils under his studio window and bid farewell to him once he died.
The beatification is a morale boost for a church starred by the sex abuse crisis, but it has also triggered a new wave of anger from victims groups because the scandal happended under John Paul's 27-year watch.
