By Philip Pullella and Tom Heneghan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pope Benedict on Sunday made an emotionally charged visit to Ground Zero, site of the World Trade Center felled in the September 11 attacks, and prayed for the victims, their families and an end to hate and violence.
In the most intense public part of his first papal visit to the United States, Benedict blessed the gaping crater -- considered hallowed ground by many who lost relatives in the al Qaeda attacks -- and comforted each of 24 special guests as a cello played somberly.
They were 16 relatives of people killed when the jets hit the towers and eight survivors -- four World Trade Center workers and four first responders who rushed to help. Some were Catholics and kissed his ring as they told them their story.
Fog shrouded tops of towering skyscrapers as the 81-year-old pope, dressed in a long white wool coat against the chill wind and damp, read a prayer for those who died at Ground Zero, the Pentagon and on United Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania when passengers overwhelmed the hijackers.
"God of peace ... turn to your way of love those whose hearts and minds are consumed with hatred," he said, after blessing the site with holy water and lighting a large candle symbolizing sacrifice and resurrection.
"Grant that those whose lives were spared may live so that the lives lost here may not have been lost in vain. Comfort and console us, strengthen us in hope, and give us the wisdom and courage to work tirelessly for a world where true peace and love reign among nations and in the hearts of all."
BELOW STREET LEVEL
It was eerily silent in the construction site 75 feet (25 meters) below street level at Manhattan's geological bedrock.
Memorial services at Ground Zero are usually held at street level because the crater is now a construction site.
The passage in the German-born pontiff's prayer about those with "minds consumed with hatred" has stirred controversy because some people interpreted it as a prayer for hijackers who were killed in the attacks and their backers.
Vatican officials have not interpreted the prayer but noted that Benedict has in the past urged radicals to eschew violence and use only peaceful means. The wording indicated he meant those still alive.
Asked about the prayer, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he had no concerns about the content.
"He really does understand what happened here and how this was an attack on freedom-loving people around the world and people who want to be able to practice their religion," Bloomberg told Reuters at Ground Zero.
"I think that he has always been a man of peace and a man who believes we should live together and he is praying for everyone."
Last month, al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden accused Benedict of being part of a "new crusade" against Islam. The Vatican rejected the accusation.
One of those attending was John McLoughlin, a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police officer who was one of the last people pulled out and who was the focus of the Oliver Stone movie "World Trade Center" starring Nicolas Cage.
After the pope left, the 24 guests were given small crosses made of the steel from the rubble of the World Trade Center and inscribed with the words "Remembering 9-11."
Benedict, who has led the Roman Catholic Church since 2005, was due to hold a final Mass for about 55,000 people at New York's Yankee Stadium in the afternoon before leaving for Rome in the evening.
Nearly 60,000 people assembled at the stadium, known as the House that Ruth Built, after one of baseball's most famous players, and were entertained at a pre-Mass concert by artists such as Jose Feliciano, Harry Connick Jr and Stephanie Mills.
During his six-day visit, the pontiff spoke out several times about the sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the U.S. Church and has cost it some $2 billion in damages.
He also addressed the United Nations and met President George W. Bush.
(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
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