Shots fired ahead of pope's German mass

ERFURT, Germany, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Shots from an air gun were fired Saturday in the vicinity of where Pope Benedict XVI was to conduct mass for 30,000 people in Germany, police said.

About two hours before the outdoor mass in Erfurt in central Germany, police arrested an unidentified man and said no one had been injured, The New York Times reported.

Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi said the shots were fired outside a security area cordoned off for the German-born 84-year-old pontiff and there was no concern for his safety.

Benedict's predecessor, Pope John Paul II, was shot four times by a gunman in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City on May 13, 1981, and survived.

Benedict addressed the Bundestag parliament in Berlin Thursday on the first day of his four-day visit and was met with large demonstrations, the Times said.

Friday, he met with Muslim officials and participated in an ecumenical service with Lutheran ministers. In an unannounced move, the pope also met privately with five victims of sexual abuse by German priests, the report said.

The Vatican said in a statement after the meeting, that the pope was "moved and deeply shaken."