Pope Greeted by Enthusiastic Maltese

His visit even encouraged some to return to Mass after many years away. He harrangues the people against modern secularism.

John Allen writes,

Rome -- For much of Pope Benedict XVI's April 17-18 visit to Malta, it was unclear whether the plumes of volcanic ash currently disrupting air travel in Europe would allow the pontiff to return to Rome as scheduled Sunday evening. In the end, however, the weather cooperated, and Benedict made it safely home.

Metaphorically, too, Malta seemed to offer a break in the storms raging around Benedict's papacy for the last month, in the form of mounting criticism of his handling of the sexual abuse crisis.

"The pope arrived in Malta with the church under a cloud," the Times of Malta opined in its wrap-up coverage, "and he must have left here satisfied that his visit had gone a long way to lifting it."

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