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The pope leaves Toronto this morning and heads for his next stop in Guatemala.

He was depicted as a frail old man perhaps unable to withstand the rigors of providing spiritual guidance to Catholic pilgrims joining him for World Youth Day.

But Pope John Paul II showed that he remains the theological and moral compass of Catholicism, speaking publicly for the first time Sunday on the sex scandals rocking the church and urging the young to make Jesus Christ and his teachings their model in life.

The 82-year-old pontiff headed for the next stage of his 11-day trip, Guatemala, where on Monday he canonizes a 17th century missionary. John Paul then proceeds to Mexico for two days before returning to the Vatican.

Before the trip, the 97th of his papacy, aides had questioned whether he was up to it. With a strong voice and moments of defiance against the declining health that stoops and slows him, John Paul showed he was.

While condemning the sexual abuse of children by priests, he told people at a soggy, muddy outdoor Mass concluding World Youth Day that young believers should not let the actions of a few sway their faith.

``If you love Jesus, love the church. Do not be discouraged by the sins and failings of some of her members," John Paul said.

``The harm done by some priests and religious to the young and vulnerable fills us all with a deep sense of sadness and shame," he continued.

``But," he said, emphasizing that word, ``think of the vast majority of dedicated priests and religious whose only wish is to serve and do good."

``Be close to them and support them," the pontiff said to cheers from the vast crowd, which was basking in sunshine after spending all night outside and getting drenched by morning rainstorms.

His comments satisfied many in the crowd, answering their questions about how to deal with the sexual abuse accusations that have engulfed the Catholic Church in the United States. About 300 of the 46,000 priests in the United States have been taken off duty this year because of sex abuse allegations.

``I think it was a good thing he mentioned it," Janelle Morin, 16, said during communion. ``The pope has really done all he could on the issue. Catholicism is founded on principles of honesty and truth. I have faith in the church. I know the bishops are protective and wouldn’t do anything to intentionally harm us."

Advocates of victims of the abuse complained the pope missed a chance to deliver a stronger message.

``A few words of apology from someone of his stature could help perhaps hundreds of people to feel some sense of healing," said David Clohessy, U.S. national director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.

With his condemnation of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in his earlier speeches and his mention of the sex abuse scandal, the pope addressed two of the major concerns of American Catholics.

Prior to Sunday, his only statements since the sex abuse scandals erupted in the Boston archdiocese in January had been a pre-Easter letter to priests and a speech to cardinals summoned to the Vatican in April.

John Paul spoke clearly and at times forcefully during the three-hour Mass, faltering only at the end when he grew visibly tired, slurred some words and lost his place in his text.

From his first appearance in Canada, stubbornly walking down the steps from his plane Tuesday instead of using a lift as in recent trips, the pontiff showed he was coming to lead the 200,000 young Catholics from 170 countries registered for World Youth Day.

Urging the young to be ``apostles of the third millennium," the pope said Sunday they should use their youthful spirit to follow and spread the teachings of Christ and the church.

A huge congregation, including Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, sprawled over a former airfield in north Toronto that had been converted into an outdoor church with a 160-foot cross towering above. Vatican officials said Toronto police estimated the crowd at 800,000, which the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. said was the largest gathering in the nation’s history.

Waving flags from every corner of the world, people cheered wildly for the pope and chanted his name with open affection. They ran to be near his ``popemobile" when it carried him slowly through the crowd, jumping up and down and hoping for him to return a wave and maybe smile.

Most of the congregation had slept outdoors at the site in an all-night vigil the pope visited Saturday.

A dawn storm drenched everyone, and a steady rain that began later delayed the pope’s arrival aboard a military helicopter by 20 minutes. The skies cleared as the pope began the Mass.

Despite his resolve, the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and hip and knee ailments forced John Paul to use a cart pushed by aides on the stage. He veered from his prepared text at one point to refer to his age, dropping a reference to being ``a bit tired" when he said, ``You are young and the pope is old, 82. It’s not the same thing as 22 or 23."

In announcing the next World Youth Day would be in Cologne, Germany, in 2005, the pope neglected to add, as he has in the past, that he hoped to attend the event.