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MADRID: Several hundred nuns gathered at Spain's famed El Escorial monastery on Friday for a speech by Pope Benedict XVI, who heads to the 16th-century complex on the second day of his visit to Spain following another night of clashes between riot police and people opposed to his visit.
Four protesters suffered light injuries after riot police wielding truncheons forced several hundred people to leave Madrid's central Sol plaza on Thursday night, sending them scurrying through side streets with officers in pursuit.
No arrests were made, said a police spokeswoman who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with department policy.
The demonstration was much smaller than a protest by 5,000 people on the eve of the pope's visit for the church's youth festival. It also ended in violence when a smaller group clashed with police in Sol, resulting in more injuries and detentions.
Protesters have used Sol since May as the epicenter of their rage against Spain's political establishment, the government's anti-austerity measures and unemployment of nearly 21 percent, a eurozone high.
They also are angry about the (euro) 50 million ($72 million) tab for staging World Youth Day as Spain struggles economically.
The church says the weeklong festival is being paid for by participants, donors and the church - but pilgrims are staying the night for free in government buildings and getting deeply discounted subway and bus tickets, while public transport fees were raised significantly for everyone else this month.
As he arrived Thursday, Benedict offered words of encouragement to young people facing precarious futures because of the economic crisis, calling for policy makers to take ethical considerations that look out for the common good into account when formulating economic policy.
On Friday, he is expected to shift gears when he meets with members of religious orders and university professors at Spain's famous El Escorial monastery, a 16th-century complex that includes a palace, museum, library, basilica and monastery 50 kilometers northwest of Madrid.
He is expected to touch on themes he has echoed in previous such encounters, on the role of God in society and of university professors like himself in forming the minds and consciences of today's young people.
Later, he will have lunch with a dozen young volunteers of World Youth Day, then participate in the Way of the Cross procession re-enacting Christ's crucifixion and death _ a staple of these Catholic youth fests which were inaugurated over a quarter century ago by Pope John Paul II.
