ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. -- Isaiah Bayliss of Alexandria, Va.. ditched school yesterday with the blessing of his principal and his parents.

"I wanted to see the pope," said the 6-year-old clad in a dress shirt and tie as he clutched a miniature American flag. His parents, Cindy and David Bayliss, accompanied him to see Pope Benedict XVI disembark from the Boeing 777 dubbed "Shepherd One" to begin his six-day visit in America.

The family came "for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Cindy Bayliss said.

So did nearly 1,000 diverse spectators, who crowded into stands for several hours to wave at Benedict and bask in his presence during his first visit as pontiff to the U.S., home to about 65 million Catholics.

Benedict is expected to address issues affecting the Catholic church, which is undergoing rapid demographic change because of an influx of immigrants, largely from Latin America, and coping with a shortage of priests.

On the special Alitalia airliner en route to the U.S., The Associated Press reported that Benedict touched on the clergy sex-abuse scandal, which some critics say he has not addressed adequately.

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His pilgrimage is the first trip by a pontiff to the United States since the Boston case in 2002 triggered a crisis that spread throughout the nation and beyond.

Hundreds of new charges -- many dating back decades -- have surfaced each year since. There were 691 new accusations in 2007 alone, according to an annual report from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The U.S. church has paid out $2 billion in abuse costs since 1950, most of that in the past six years.

"It is a great suffering for the church in the United States and for the church in general and for me personally that this could happen," Benedict said. "It is difficult for me to understand how it was possible that priests betray in this way their mission . . . to these children."

"I am deeply ashamed, and we will do what is possible so this cannot happen again in the future," the pope said.

Benedict pledged that pedophiles will not be priests in the Catholic church.

"It is more important to have good priests than many priests," he said. "We will do everything possible to heal this wound."

Benedict described his pilgrimage as a journey to meet a "great people and a great church." He spoke about the American model of religious values within a system of separation of church and state.

President Bush, first lady Laura Bush and their daughter Jenna greeted the pontiff on a red carpet rolled out for him about 4:10 p.m., along with church officials, who included the Most Rev. Donald W. Wuerl, archbishop of Washington.

It was the first time the president has greeted a head of state at Andrews. The president and the pope will meet again today, when a crowd of 9,000 or more is expected at the White House to greet Benedict on his 81st birthday.

The pope said he will discuss immigration with Bush, including the difficulties of families who are separated by immigration.

While the pope and Bush differ on such major issues on the Iraq war, capital punishment and the U.S. embargo against Cuba, they do find common ground in opposing abortion, same-sex marriage, and embryonic-stem-cell research.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said she wouldn't rule out the sex-abuse issue coming up in conversation between the pope and the president but added that it's not necessarily one of Bush's top priorities in his meeting with Benedict. Perino said the two leaders likely will discuss human rights, religious tolerance, and the fight against violent extremism.

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When the plane touched down at Andrews, it stopped long enough for the American flag and the Vatican flag to be affixed to the plane's nose.

Aley Villarreal, 15, couldn't have been more thrilled to have such a clear, unobstructed view.

"Oh, my God, it's amazing! Seeing the pope and the president that close in the same day is overwhelming," said the sophomore at Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, Md., which sent 100 students and faculty members. The school's band also performed a couple of songs at the welcoming ceremony.

"I was so excited when the pope came out," said Chelsie Smith, 17, a classmate. "I'm kind of hoarse now!"

Cheryl Rush, 27, of Alexandria, Va., wanted to be present when the pope stepped off the plane not just for the historic significance but "it's a big deal for my parents. They couldn't be here," said Rush, who won a lottery ticket.

Cheers erupted when the pope stood in the doorway of the airplane and quickly descended the stairs.
Contact Robin Farmer at (804) 649-6312 or rfarmer@timesdispatch.com.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.