Papal Visit

Pope Benedict XVI To Get To Work Wednesday

Pontiff Has Full Slate In Washington Before Heading To NYC

WASHINGTON (CBS) ― Pope Benedict XVI landed safely at Andrews Air Force Base Tuesday afternoon, his plane touching down about 3:50 p.m., marking the beginning his brief trip in the United States.

The pontiff emerged from the aircraft to cheers from the crowd at 4:11 and was immediately greeted by President Bush, first lady Laura Bush, and their daughter Jenna. It was the first time a president formally greeted a pope or any foreign leader at an airport.

After then accepting the greetings from several high clergy, the pope waved to the cheering crowd and walked down a red carpet with President Bush and his family.

The pontiff will stay Washington, D.C. through Friday morning, when he heads to New York City until Sunday night.

The security surrounding the pope will be immense, and officials prepared by holding drills that are as realistic as possible. Coast Guard patrols will seal off water access to the venues, and they'll check the underside of nearby bridges for bombs.

"There's nothing that we can throw at these guys that we don't have a good plan in place for," said special agent Jeffrey Irvine, who is in charge of the Secret Service. 

The pope left Rome early in the morning, but just minutes before the pope boarded the special Alitalia airliner, he'd already began making headlines by answering reporters' questions submitted in advance.

On the way to his first papal pilgrimage, the pope said he was deeply ashamed of the clergy sexual abuse scandal that has cost the church in America hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements.

"It is a great suffering for the church that this could happen," he said. "It is difficult for me to understand how it was possible that priests betray in this way their message to these children. I am deeply ashamed and we will do what is possible so this can not happen again in the future.

And Benedict pledged that pedophiles would not be priests in the Roman Catholic church. 

With his six-day U.S. trip now underway, the pontiff will visit the White House on Wednesday and have an Oval Office meeting with President Bush. He will also address American bishops at the Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

And on Thursday, the Pope will hold a public mass at Washington Nationals Stadium.

Stay with wcbstv.com and CBS 2 for live on-air and online video coverage of the pope's visit in America. Click here for complete coverage of the papal visit.

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