Pope Benedict XVI waves before embarking on a flight to Australia for a 10-day pilgrimage, in Rome's Fiumicino airport yesterday. The special Alitalia flight had Benedict, Vatican officials and journalists aboard.

POPE BENEDICT XVI said yesterday he wants to wake up consciences on climate change during his pilgrimage in Australia.

Benedict also told reporters while flying to Sydney to start a 10-day visit that he would work for "healing and reconciliation with the victims" of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy there "just as I did in the United States" earlier this year.

Less than an hour after the pope's flight took off from Rome, Benedict walked back to the section where journalists sat and met with them for about 15 minutes. He called on five journalists to ask questions that had been submitted to the Vatican earlier in the week.

One asked about climate change following discussions on the environment during this month's G-8 summit in Japan.

'Wake up consciences'

There is a need to "wake up consciences," Benedict responded. "We have to give impulse to rediscovering our responsibility and to finding an ethical way to change our way of life."

Benedict said that politicians and experts must be "capable of responding to the great ecological challenge and to be up to the task of this challenge".

"We have our responsibilities towards creation," Benedict said, stressing, however, that he had no intention of weighing in on technical or political questions swirling around climate change.

Benedict said he would address the problem of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy.

He reiterated his view that sexual abuse is "incompatible with the behaviour" required of priests. At the start of his US pilgrimage, Benedict had said he was "deeply ashamed" of the abuse scandal and pledged to work to make sure paedophiles did not become priests.

Church 'in crisis'

Benedict acknowledged in comments to reporters yesterday aboard the plane that the Church in the West was "in crisis" but insisted it was not in decline. "I am an optimist" about its future, he said.

The Australia pilgrimage is the longest in his three-year-old papacy and will test the 81-year-old pontiff's stamina. Tens of thousands of young pilgrims are awaiting him in Sydney.

Upon the pope's arrival in Sydney after more than 20 hours of flying - interrupted only by a 90-minute refuelling stop - he will spend three days resting in a Roman Catholic study centre in Kenthurst, in the countryside outside Sydney.

After he succeeded John Paul three years ago, Benedict said he doubted he would make many long trips. But invitations keep coming in from world leaders and officials of his global 1-billion member flock.