Pope Francis, battered by abuse scandal, gets warm welcome in Baltics

Vilnius, Lithuania • Tens of thousands of Lithuanians lined the narrow streets of the Old Town of Vilnius and cheered Saturday as Pope Francis’ popemobile passed by, an exuberant greeting that must have been welcome to a pontiff battered by new revelations in the Catholic Church’s long-running sex abuse scandal.The church’s mounting credibility crisis was nowhere to be seen or heard on Vilnius’ streets, which were filled with Lithuanians and Poles who arrived by the