MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Pope reaches out to all people

Pope Benedict XVI formally began his stewardship of the Roman Catholic Church, reaching out to Jews, other Christians and “non-believers alike,” and asking for prayers from the 350,000 pilgrims and dignitaries gathered in St Peter's Square as he assumes “this enormous task.”

The former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was known as the iron hand enforcing church orthodoxy, made clear in his installation homily that as Pope, he would listen along with the church to the will of God in governing the world's 1.1 billion Catholics.

Wearing golden vestments and clutching his pastoral staff, Benedict began the ceremony by processing into the area under St Peter's Basilica where St Peter is believed to be buried, paying homage to the first Pope and blessing the tomb with incense as a choir chanted.

At the end of the Mass, he blessed the crowd as he rode in a white open-topped car surrounded by plain-clothed guards. The faithful reached out to him and snapped pictures of him.

In one of the most symbolic moments of the Mass, Benedict was given his Fisherman's Ring and a woollen pallium or shawl - both symbols of his papal authority. The ring is emblazoned with an image of Peter casting his fishing nets and was traditionally used to seal apostolic letters.

Looking tired and coughing several times, Benedict was interrupted by applause during his homily, particularly when he invoked his predecessor, John Paul II. "And now at this moment, weak servant of God that I am, I must assume this enormous task, which truly exceeds all human capacity," he said.

He quoted John Paul in his inaugural homily in 1978, in which the late pope said: "Do not be afraid!"

In his homily, Benedict made clear he wanted to reach out to other Christians, delivering "special greetings" to them as well as to Jews "to whom we are joined by a great shared spiritual heritage".

"Finally, like a wave gathering force, my thoughts go out to all men and women of today, to believers and non-believers alike," he said.

In one of his first acts, Benedict had invited Rome's chief rabbi to the installation ceremony. The rabbi, Riccardo di Segni, couldn't attend because of the Passover holiday which began Saturday. Benedict's effort to reach out to the Jews was seen as significant because of his own past: he has acknowledged being a member of Hitler Youth as a teenager and was drafted to serve in the German army.