The New Zealand Catholic church is confident the Pope's apology for past sexual abuse by priests, delivered on Saturday, is more than just talk. Pope Benedict delivered the apology in Sydney as part of World Youth Day celebrations.
He made a similar apology when he travelled to the US earlier this year.
Catholic spokeswoman Lyndsay Freer says the Pope has asked people to help local bishops to combat the evil of sexual abuse, and that the church has now established protocols for dealing with abuse complaints.
And when young men apply for the priesthood, there are now very strict procedures in place to assess their psychosexual health.
More than half a million people are expected to take part in the final event of World Youth Day celebrations in Australia on Sunday.
Almost 200,000 have camped out ahead of Sunday's commemorations.
Numbers are expected to almost double by the time Pope Benedict delivers his final mass in Sydney, capping off six days of festivities.
Freer says that she is not a young person anymore, but she is loving it. Despite legal and police wrangling over protesters, the atmosphere has reportedly been joyous.
Freer says the young Catholics who have flocked to attend the event are very idealistic, and see issues such as the environment as being part of their faith.
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