Pope to Portugal for bittersweet 'Catholic Woodstock' of the young

FILE PHOTO: Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer from his window, at the Vatican, July 30, 2023. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

LISBON (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of young people from around the world have descended on Portugal to welcome Pope Francis when he arrives on Wednesday to close a jamboree dubbed "the Catholic Woodstock".

However, the shadow of the Church's sexual abuse scandal will haunt the background as a reminder of how much work it still has to do to put the scandal behind it.